BEAVER FALLS, Pa. – The Geneva College community is mourning the passing of former women's basketball coach Lori Wynn, who succumbed to a long battle with cancer on Friday morning in North Carolina.
Wynn was hired by Geneva in 2011 to take over leadership of the women's basketball program and to teach in Geneva's Sport Management and Physical Education department, where she served for eight seasons. In 2016, Wynn was diagnosed with ovarian cancer and sat out the 2016-17 season while receiving treatment, with the program rallying around Wynn with the mantra "Wynn the Battle." She returned to coach the Golden Tornadoes after recovering from the initial cancer diagnosis and led Geneva for two more seasons.
Unfortunately, the cancer returned, and she stepped down from her coaching responsibilities at the conclusion of the 2018-19 season to focus on her teaching duties in Geneva's Sport Management and Physical Education department for the fall 2019 semester. She was forced to resign her position in December of 2019 because of the advancement of the cancer, and she returned to her home in North Carolina where she has been for the past four months.
"Coach Wynn leaves a legacy of love and compassion that is unmatched," Director of Athletics Van Zanic recalls. "Her fight and unwavering faith and trust in her Lord and Savior Jesus Christ will be an impactful reminder to her friends, her colleagues and her players. She loved her players and she loved coaching and teaching the game of basketball. Coach Wynn was a great ambassador for Geneva College, but more importantly she loved the Lord and in all things never compromised her faith.
"It is a sad day for Geneva College and for all of those people that she has impacted throughout her life and throughout her fight. Coach Wynn will be sadly missed."
Wynn began her playing career as a student at Geneva during the 1988-89 season, but transferred to Houghton College after a year to pursue a different academic major, graduating from Houghton in 1992 with a B.S. in Physical Education. She went on to earn an M.E.D. in Health and Physical Education from East Stroudsburg State in 2001.
She spent 26 years on the sideline coaching women's basketball, with prior stints at Malone University, Grace (IN) College, and Nyack College. She was recently inducted into the Houghton Hall of Honor this spring.
Wynn's courageous fight against cancer was inspiring to everyone she came in contact with. Her upbeat attitude, joyful spirit and unwavering faith in the Lord belied the battle she endured throughout the past four years. She will be remembered by all those she impacted over many years through her teaching and ministry of coaching through the game of basketball.
Geneva College is a Christ-centered academic community that provides a comprehensive education to equip students for faithful and fruitful service to God and neighbor. Offering over 145 traditional undergraduate majors and programs, fully online Adult Degree Programs and high-demand graduate degrees, Geneva's programs are recognized for their high quality. Geneva is included on Kiplinger's Personal Finance's "2019 Best College Values" list and has one of the top undergraduate engineering programs in the nation, according to U.S. News and World Report. Adhering to the truth of Scripture, a Geneva education is grounded in God's Word as well as in a core curriculum designed to prepare students vocationally to think, write and communicate well in today's world.
