Mary Virginia Gaynor, age 86, passed away peacefully Friday, March 7, 2025 at Jewish Hospital in Cincinnati, surrounded by her family.
Mary was born April 19, 1938 to Martin and Dorothy Horner in Dover, Indiana. She was one of nine children: Betty, Paul, Mary, John Thomas, Joe, Michael, Louis, Larry and Theresa.
After high school Mary worked as a secretary at Proctor & Gamble in downtown Cincinnati, and shared an apartment with Alice Gaynor. Alice introduced Mary to her brother Bob, who worked as a farmer and a maintenance worker at Proctor & Gamble. Bob noticed Mary’s reverence during communion at St. John the Baptist Catholic Church, and soon they were dating.
Bob and Mary were married on October 21, 1961. They have been very active at St. John’s Catholic Church in Dover. Mary was one of the first CCD teachers, participated in the Ladies Sodality, prepared food for funerals and picnics, and led a prayer group.
Bob and Mary have three children: Robin, Beth, and Jim. They encouraged daily prayer at home, and each child continued the tradition of volunteering at St. John’s, including serving, music ministry, and food preparation for picnics. She worked hard to help her children get a good education, nurturing Robin and Jim to become engineers and Beth to become a teacher. Robin married Amy Bopp and they have three children: Johnathon, Morgan, and Caitlyn. Beth married Kevin Emsweller, and Jim married Jill Walker.
Mary was very fond of her nieces and nephews, her cousins, and family gatherings. She enjoyed sending notes of encouragement and cards to family and community members. She encouraged her family to make good choices.
We are grateful for the time we had with Mary, Mom, and Grandma.
Services honoring Mary will be held on Monday, March 10 at Andres-Wuestefeld Funeral Home. Rosary will begin at 4:00pm followed by visitation until 7:00pm. Visitation will continue from 9:30am to 10:00am on Tuesday, March 11 followed by Mass of Christian Burial at 10:30am at St. John the Baptist Church of All Saints Parish. Burial in the church cemetery will immediately follow. For those unable to attend, Mass will be live streamed at https://www.youtube.com/user/aspweeklyhomily. Memorials can be made to the St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, St. John’s Cemetery Fund or Donor’s Choice Family and friends are encouraged to leave condolences at www.andres-wuestefeldfh.com.