Business Education teacher, veteran, and award-winning country music songwriter Jim Flynn of Lewistown, Maine. Photo credit: Creative Commons.
There are many examples of dedicated educators who have earned fame in arenas outside of the classroom. One of these was Jim Flynn, a business education teacher from Maine who was also well-known as a country music songwriter.
Jim was born on March 24, 1938, in Lewistown, Maine. He was raised is Monmouth, Maine. As a young man, he served his country in the US Army as a radio operator. He was deployed to Germany as part of the Cold War effort known as Operation Gyroscope. In 1957, he joined a musical group named the Tune Toppers which was featured in the 10th Infantry Division Band and Chorus that performed in Wurzburg.
After Jim earned his Honorable discharge in 1959, he enrolled in business courses at first the Auburn Maine School of Commerce and then the Husson College in Bangor, Maine. He earned his Bachelor’s degree in Business Education in 1964. Ten years later he earned his Master’s degree in Secondary School Administration from the University of Southern Maine at Portland-Gorham.
Jim inaugurated his career as an educator in 1964. He taught Business Education and also coached sports. Once he retired from the classroom, he sold educational textbooks to public schools located in Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, and Massachusetts.
After he left the classroom, Jim became a local celebrity among country music aficionados in New England. The former educator earned several awards for the songs he wrote. In 2005, he garnered first place in the Best Folk Songwriter category for the song “The Ballad of L.L. Bean” at the Down East Country Music Awards (DECMA). That same year, he earned second and third place in the Traditional Country Songwriter category for his compositions entitled “As Calm as a Blue Lagoon” and “The Day they Paved the Road.” In addition, DECMA honored Jim with a Founders Award for his contributions to the Maine country music community.
Jim Flynn passed away on May 8, 2019, in his home town of Lewistown. He was 81 years old. To read more about this talented teacher, see his entry at Moviefit.
