Mary E. Asmus, 93, of Bowling Green and formerly of Pemberville, passed away December 25, 2022. She was born November 6, 1929 to the late Edward and Laurel (Bonawitt) Onsel and grew up in Risingsun, Ohio.
Along with her three younger siblings, Mary thrived in the small community—playing with neighborhood kids, learning to tap dance and play the piano, and visiting her grandparents at their nearby farm every Sunday. She treasured joining her father, an oil producer, as he drove throughout the countryside, visiting well sites across Wood and nearby counties. She often told the story of witnessing the last oil well geyser shot in the area when she was six years old—an event that sparked her life-long interest in local Black Swamp history.
Mary took a keen interest in her studies, and during the spring of her senior year in high school, was the top scorer on the English exam in Wood County. She graduated at age 16 as the valedictorian of Risingsun High School Class of 1946. Mary enrolled that same year at Bowling Green State University upon her father’s condition that she study something “practical.” She arrived on campus along with hundreds of young men returning from the war. The queue for class registration took hours, and dorm rooms were cramped with four students each. Mary joined Alpha Chi Omega sorority and majored in Spanish and French. She received her degree in 1950 and at age 20, began a career in teaching at Haskins High School where her oldest student was 19. She also continued her studies while teaching and received her master’s degree from BGSU in 1957.
During her time in Haskins, she met her future husband, Norman Asmus. They married in 1952 at St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in Haskins. They started their family after moving to Pemberville, where they joined Bethlehem Lutheran Church. Mary returned to teaching foreign languages at Eastwood Schools for nearly 20 years before retiring in 1978. She loved working with students and arranging a variety of Spanish Club trips to Toledo, Ohio to see Flamenco dancers and to historic St. Augustine, Florida and San Antonio, Texas. She then went on to open and run the Little Shop on the Portage in Woodville, where she sold figurines, plates and other collectables. She took pride in helping customers find just the right Precious Moment or Lighted Village piece for themselves or a loved one.
Throughout the years Mary greatly enjoyed family trips to Bar Harbor, Maine and colonial Massachusetts, first on her honeymoon, then with her young family, and finally with her mother and siblings. For Mary, time with family was time for laughter. In her later years, she enjoyed eating out and joyrides to visit the Maumee River, the Pemberville Fair, and her old homes. Mary focused on staying physically and mentally active. She could often be found walking around the complex where she lived and was known as an avid reader of health newsletters as well as an expert crossword and Sudoku puzzler.
Mary is survived by her children Kristin (Keith) McCloud of Grandville, Ohio, Kari Asmus of Etna, New Hampshire and Eric Asmus of Toledo, Ohio and grandson Keenan McCloud.
A graveside service will be held on Monday July 3, 2023 at 10:00 a.m. at Oak Grove Cemetery in Bowling Green. Funeral arrangements have been entrusted to Dunn Funeral Home.
