Southwest Orange schools mourn loss of crossing guard

Lynn Toenges served as a crossing guard at Bay Lake Elementary School and Horizon West Middle School.

By Liz Ramos
| 5:35 p.m. November 21, 2025

Observer School Zone
News

Southwest Orange schools are mourning the sudden passing of school crossing guard Lynn Toenges.

Toenges was hired as an Orange County Sheriff's Office crossing guard in 2024 after he retired from Disney.

The sheriff's office said he was missing the interaction of working with people at Disney, so he wanted to become a crossing guard.

Since then, he had spent his mornings and afternoons talking to Bay Lake Elementary School and Horizon West Middle School students and their families while keeping them safe as they crossed the roads.

"Wishing nothing but strength and comfort to all who knew Lynn Toenges, who spent the last year serving our community as a crossing guard at Bay Lake Elementary and Horizon West Middle School," District 1 Commissioner Nicole Wilson posted on Facebook. "He will be deeply missed."

author

Liz Ramos

Managing Editor Liz Ramos previously covered education and community for the East County Observer. Before moving to Florida, Liz was an education reporter for the Lynchburg News & Advance in Virginia for two years after graduating from the Missouri School of Journalism.