b'IN MEMORYRemembering Tom LynchTommy Don Lynch, age 75, passedC o r p o r a t i o n awayon Wednesday,October16,andrelocatedto 2019inBurlington,N.C.,afteraChicago,Ill.,and long battle against cancer. became the com-Lynchspenthisentireworkingpanys Technical Services Manager.lifeintheceramictileindustry,While working at MAPEI, Woody startingwhilehewasasenioratSanders, President of DW Sanders Sun Prairie Senior High School inTile&StoneContracting,met Wisconsin. In 1967, at the age ofLynch. At the time, Sanders had just 23,hecompletedunionappren- taken a position working for Lynch ticeshiptrainingprogramsfortheinMAPEIsTechnicalServices. installation of ceramic tile, naturalMoving from Mississippi to Illinois stone, terrazzo, carpet and resilientwith a young family in tow was cul-flooring. Hard work and dedicationture shock, having never lived out propelled Lynch to quickly becomeofthesouth,Sanderssaid.Tom the top estimator and project man- Lynch was not only welcoming but ager for the L&O Tile Company inapatientteacherasIlearnedthe Madison, Wis. job. He was a wealth of knowledge By1969,hestartedhisownontheapplicationandhowthe ceramic and stone tile contractingchemistryinthemortarswork.I company,Madison TileCompany.alwaysappreciatedhisdirectness During this time, Lynch also servedand explanation of his position on asthesubcontractorliaisontoissues as we worked together. theMadison,Wis.chapteroftheJimOlson,AssistantExecutive AssociatedGeneralContractorsDirectorfortheNTCA,alsocited (AGC). Lynchasaguidingforceinhis Eighteen years as a self-employedcareer.Olson,whohasknown tilecontractorinWisconsinandLynchforseveralyearssaid,He theninAlaskaperforminglargewas someone who stirred my inter-commercialprojects,aswellasestinthetechnicalsideoftile residentialinstallations,uniquelyinstallation, which helped me grow prepared Lynch to enter the alliedin the industry.products field. In 1987, he became aIn1992,Lynchreturnedtohis technical adviser to the Hydromentnative state of Wisconsin to become Company in Long Beach, Calif. Hean independent manufacturers rep-wasthenrecruitedbytheMAPEIresentativeandtechnicalconsul-110TileLetter | December 2019'