Gene L . Ditsler

Celia Hazel Oliver

Gene Leroy Ditsler loved life and lived it to the fullest for nearly 88 years , from his birth on February 8 , 1937 , in Valparaiso , IN , until his death on November 7 , in Granville , OH .

Gene grew up loving sports , especially basketball , and though he wasn ’ t tall enough to play on the high school team , he worked hard to become a free throw champion , later earning him a front-page article in the Cleveland Plain Dealer sports page at the age of 39 for shooting 73 free throws in a row . His record ( witnessed ) was 228 in a row in 2003 . He was unbeatable in horse .

In 1954 , Gene met Marjorie , a renowned beauty and his wife to be , in South Bend , IN , at the Disciples of Christ Church and they were married in 1959 . Their first son , Mark , was born in 1959 . Gene graduated from Western , MI with a degree in physical education and English and earned his master ’ s degree in education administration at Case Western Reserve in Cleveland . He loved working with kids and devoted a great deal of his life to coaching , educating , and supporting young people .

Gene began his long career in education as a guidance counselor for the Cleveland city schools , where he became assistant principal during the civil rights movement , which he championed . Gene and Marjorie settled in Fairview Park , a suburb of Cleveland , and had two more children , Jennifer in 1962 and Andrew in

Gene L . Ditsler

1968 . Organic gardening enthusiasts , Marge and Gene bought a ramshackle Civil War-era farm in Warsaw , OH in 1970 that the family would visit almost every weekend and in summers till Gene and Marge retired there in 1990 . By that time , Gene had planted 3,000 trees and together they ’ d transformed their 40 acres of wooded hills into a beautiful tree farm and nature reserve that everyone loved to visit ( he also installed a regulation NBA halfcourt in the barn for free throw shooting ). An avid fisherman , Gene stocked his pond with largemouth bass and bluegill and spent just as many hours fishing as he did just sitting by the pond feeding his fish and contemplating life .

During his “ retirement ” at the farm , Gene worked as a bus driver for the Warsaw school system , as principal of Ridgewood High School in Coshocton , as a canal boat captain in Roscoe Village , and as a Coshocton GED teacher . An avid reader and lifelong lover of poetry , literature and

the theater , Gene and Marge traveled regularly to New York to see the latest Broadway shows on visits to their daughter . An actor himself , Gene appeared in several theatrical productions by the Coshocton Footlight Players . Never one to decline a challenge , at the age of 65 Gene decided to fulfill his lifelong dream of becoming a pilot . By the age of 68 he was a fixture at Coshocton ’ s Richard Downing Airport and was flying his own plane around central Ohio , often with a grandchild in tow . A great day for Gene was to fly to Carrollton for a piece of pie — his favorite food — with either Madison , Benjamin , Drew , Jackson or Inès , his five beloved grandchildren , as his co-pilot . When he wasn ’ t flying he was working in the woods of the farm he loved so dearly . Gene and Marge moved to a retirement community in Granville , OH in June 2024 .

Loved by so many , Gene will be greatly missed by his wife Marjorie , his children Andrew and Jennifer , his five grandchildren and his many friends . Donations in his memory can be sent to the Arbor Day Foundation .

Celia Hazel Oliver , age 91 , of Lebanon , Ohio , formerly of Coshocton , Ohio , passed away on Thursday , November 14 , 2024 . She was born in Birmingham , England , on February 27 , 1933 , to the late George C . and Mabel ( Barnatt ) Barke and grew up in Sunninghill , England .

In January of 1956 , Hazel and her husband , Alex immigrated to the United States along with her parents . Hazel and Alex were married at The Presbyterian Church in Coshocton on March 31 , 1956 , with the Reverend Harold Kaiser officiating . They made Coshocton their permanent home , where they would eventually raise their three children , and become naturalized U . S . citizens in 1969 . They continued to be active members of the Presbyterian Church for many years .

Hazel enjoyed sharing laughter , stories , and meals with her family and friends . She also enjoyed crafts of many kinds ,

Kaylee Kunze ’ s name was accidentally left off a list of Ridgewood High School students who earned the Artificial Intelligence Readiness Credential , an industry-recognized certification that demonstrates advanced digital skills and readiness for the future of AI technologies . The original article appeared in the Nov . 21 Beacon . Kunze is among 50 students across Ohio who earned this certification , which also is officially recognized by Intel for its standards in digital readiness and innovation .

Celia Oliver

especially knitting and crocheting . She was also an avid gardener at both her Florida and Ohio homes .

Hazel is survived by her three children , Celia Oliver of Greenfield , NH , Keith ( Nancy ) Oliver of Mason , OH and Terry ( Voni ) Oliver of Indianapolis , IN ; six grandchildren : Robert , Tim , and Emily Oliver , and Ian , Kaylee , and Sam Oliver and four great-grandchildren : Miles and Max Oliver and Quinn and Graham Oliver .

She is preceded in

death by her parents , her loving husband of 59 years , Alex Oliver and her two sisters , Gwen Stotler and Babe Thompson .

Calling hours were held on Saturday , November 30 , 2024 , from 11:00 am to 12:00 pm at Given- Dawson-Paisley Funeral Home . A memorial service followed at the funeral home at 12:00 pm with Pastor Tyler Rollinson officiating . Burial was held at Canal Lewisville Church . Because of the outstanding care and compassion of the team of nurses and aides from Crossroads Hospice of Dayton , OH , the family respectfully requests that those who wish to do so make a donation to Crossroads in lieu of flowers . Donations may be sent by mail to Crossroads Hospice Charitable Foundation , 10810 E . 45th Street , Suite 300 , Tulsa , OK 74146 , or online at https :// crhcf . org / donate /.

An online memorial can be viewed at www . given-dawson-pasielyfh . com .

In Memory

Michael “ Mike ” Cochran December 5 , 1963 - October 8 , 2016

Gone but not forgotten .

Wishing you were here to celebrate your birthday with you .

I have talked to many of your friends and they comment how good of a cyclist you were .

Greatly missed by family and friends .

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