Mary Elizabeth (née Elliott) Koogler Bayman

KOOGLER BAYMAN, Mary Elizabeth (née Elliott), age 99 years and 10 months of Beavercreek, OH, formerly of Kettering, OH, passed away peacefully on June 9th 2025, at Ohio’s Hospice of Dayton. Mary was born on August 10th, 1925 in Dayton, OH to the late Dr. Earl and Mabel (Coppess) Elliott.

Mary graduated from Fairview High School in 1943 and earned a bachelor’s degree in Horticulture from THE Ohio State University in 1948, where she was an active member of the Delta Delta Delta sorority. During her sophomore year, her Entomology professor asked if anyone would volunteer to go to Mexico for a hands-on research opportunity and she was the first to raise her hand. Mary studied several different species of Leafhoppers and even had one named after her! Following graduation, Mary got her first job testing appliances in the Home Economics department at Frigidaire. Mary proceeded to further her education and graduate from Wright State University with a bachelor’s degree in science education and earned a teaching certificate in home economics from the University of Dayton which spurred her teaching career at JFK Junior High School in Kettering, OH, until her long awaited retirement.

While studying abroad in Mexico, Mary discovered her passion for traveling. She and her first husband, Bob, made it to all 50 states and Canada. Bob and Mary enjoyed packing up the family and their basset hounds in the trailer and hitting the road, making lots of fond memories together, especially after they retired and wintered in Tucson, AZ where Mary discovered her love for Native American culture and artwork. Mary and her second husband, Duane, also enjoyed warm winters in Sebring, Florida. Continuing her passion for adventuring, Mary dragged Duane to all 7 continents. Some of her favorite memories include zip lining in Costa Rica, ice skating on the Stillwater River in Montana, and exploring the Amazon, where she got to pet pink dolphins and fish for piranhas. Her favorite places she visited were Antarctica, Argentina, Croatia, and most of all Africa. There was hardly a place Mary had not traveled and she loved sharing her amateur photography, travel stories, and itineraries with anyone she could happily corner.

As a true Daytonian, Mary was very proud of her Dayton heritage, its history, and what the city had to offer. She was an active member and volunteer in her Dayton community, Trinity of Beavercreek community, Tri Delta alumnae chapter, and THE Ohio State University – Greene County Alumni Club. She was a guardian on an Honor Flight with Duane, volunteered at the Schuster Center and Carillon Park, and delivered Meals on Wheels in both Dayton and Florida for 20 years. Mary was an ally and a long-time, devoted member of David’s United Church of Christ. She loved gardening and flowers, especially her orchids, extra crispy bacon, her morning SlimFast, and Rodeo Red from The Winery at Versailles.

While often heard exercising her involuntary reflex by yelling “O-H!” at anyone in public who happened to dawn OSU garb, Mary made it very well known to everyone that she was a proud OSU alumna and a die-hard Buckeye football fan who supported anything related to THE Ohio State University. The family would be remiss if we did not publicly emphasize this fact one last time. While attending a game or two each season from her youth well into her late 90s, Mary was an ardent and steadfast supporter who never missed a game on TV, unless it was on Peacock (booo), and never let freezing temperatures, a sweltering heat, a historical blizzard, a long hike up to the top of C-deck, a face plant in the Oval which rendered Mary battered, bloodied, and bruised yet completely unfazed, or even old age stand between her and the game she had tickets to that day. It is only fitting that in Mary’s final few games she was able to witness Ohio State’s historic and dominant playoff run to win the 2024 National Championship this past season.

The family would like to thank all the wonderful caregivers and staff she befriended at Miami Valley Hospitals, The Rehabilitation Institute of Ohio, Ohio’s Hospice of Dayton, and especially the Trinity Community of Beavercreek.

Mary was preceded in death by her parents, her sister Ruth, her first husband of 46 years, Robert F. “Bob” Koogler Jr.; her second husband of 20 years, H. Duane Bayman; son, Mark Koogler; and daughter, Lynn Bender.

Mary is survived by her stepchildren, Brian Bayman, Bruce (Alice) Bayman and their children, Matt and Mark; daughter-in-law, Vicki Koogler; 3 grandsons, Ryan Bender, Andrew (Christina) Koogler, and Nicholas (Rika) Koogler; and 3 great-grandchildren: Felix, Elon, and Arya.

A funeral service will be held on Saturday June 21st, 2025 at 11 AM at David’s United Church of Christ. The family will receive friends from 10 AM until the time of the service. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to David’s United Church of Christ, 170 W David Rd, Dayton, OH 45429.

For livestreaming services, please click the link to our YouTube channel, https://www.youtube.com/ channel/UClMhWc17z2ZiDMq6FwWfp9Q .

And as always, “Go Bucks!”