Wayne Lewis Dunn

Wayne L. Dunn, 75, of Lebanon, passed away on Saturday, October 10, 2026 at Traditions of Lebanon. Born November 19, 1950, to William C. ”Willie” and Jean (nee: Ivins) Dunn in Middletown, OH.

Preceded in death by his parents and his wife, Georgia (nee: Stilwell) Dunn, he is survived by his siblings, Daryl (Margie) Dunn, Gary (Christie) Dunn and Darlene (Robert) McLain and 14 nieces and nephews.

Wayne seemed drawn to the Lebanon experience. He was raised, attended school, and then began a teaching career at Lebanon High School after graduating from Wilmington College with a BFA in theater. Wayne earned a Master of Arts degree in English from Xavier University and became the English department chair and the drama coach as well as Advanced Placement English instructor for LHS. Warren County Project Excellence named him teacher of the year for Lebanon He took over the fledgling student newspaper, the Light. He advised the Light for 16 years where the paper’s efforts to practice student free speech made the landmark book on student media censorship, Death by Cheeseburger. The newspaper took top honors from most national organizations, and Wayne was honored with the Gold Key, Columbia Scholastic Press’s highest honor.

When Lakota Schools split into two high schools, they asked Wayne to create a new publication for Lakota West H.S. The result was the Voice, and within three years the newspaper won a Pacemaker, sometimes called the Pulitzer of scholastic journalism. He retired after 7 years with Lakota West. Even in retirement He was part of a national pilot program to mentor beginning journalism advisers for the Journalism Education Association. He taught advisers at the American Society of Newspaper Editors summer institute at Kent. He and his wife Georgia were presented the JEA Lifetime Achievement Award in 2004.

A founding board member of the Lebanon Theater Co. Wayne earned regional awards for direction, acting, set design, and set décor for various shows. In addition to LTCo he performed at LaComedia, Showboat, and Wilmington Collage. He retired from teaching English, theatre and journalism in 2004, and he and his wife opened a photography studio, Well Dunn Images. Wayne was a lifelong member of Bethany UCC. There he was a member of the choir and served the church in numerous ways. God gave him a wonderful tenor voice, and he used it often to praise Him.

A visitation will be held on Friday, October 23, 2026 from 5:00 PM-6:30 PM with a Celebration of Life service at 7:00 pm, all at the Lebanon Theater Company . Private Family burial will be held later.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Lebanon Food Pantry .