Danny Ward

Full Obituary:

Douglas Bahun

JANUARY 10, 1950 – DECEMBER 20, 2020

Douglas Mark Bahun completed his journey on earth at the age of 70 and went home to Heaven to meet his Savior, Jesus Christ, on Sunday, December 20, 2020. He was surrounded by all of his children whom he loved fiercely and with utter devotion. Doug was born to Frank and Lavada Bahun of New Carlisle, OH, on January 10th, 1950. He was the oldest of four boys (Mike, Rudy, and John), all of whom grew up in New Carlisle and attended the local schools. His stories of growing up were filled with boyhood adventure and small town fun. He never lived farther than 40 minutes from where he began and always kept tabs on the local activities. Doug is survived by his brother, John.

Doug was an altar boy in his youth although his personal faith in Jesus Christ began later in adulthood and sustained him through the bumps and bruises of life. He was also an Eagle Scout with the Boy Scouts of America and proudly applied those skills on many family camping trips, backyard adventures, and building projects. You can see the impact of “Be Prepared” when any of his children pack for a car trip.

After high school, Doug attended the General Motors Institute (GMI) in Flint, MI, where he joined the Theta Xi fraternity. He made lifelong, treasured friends there and began a career in Manufacturing Engineering that spanned over 30 years. He applied his knowledge and strong work ethic for most of those years with GM and its subsidiaries with a few short stints at other small businesses. He loved spending time in the company machine shops and finding ways to do things more efficiently and with greater excellence. He often emphasized that the tool and die makers and equipment technicians were the real genius behind the company’s success. He continued his education earning a Master’s Degree from the University of Dayton. Even after retirement, Doug loved to “talk shop” and hear about innovations in engineering and maintenance. Solving problems and driving toward excellence were his passion.

Doug is survived by his eight children. In 1974, Doug married and started a family that grew over the years to a total of 5 boys and 3 girls: Carrie (m. Blake Brown); Ben (m. Jackie Baumgardner); Margie Gay; Sam (m. Rebecca Van Zant); Buddy (m. Julia Mwahi); Lydia (m. Travis Hammond); Tim; and Dan. He was always interested in their education and social activities. His skills for research and organization helped them make it through high school and beyond. Family gatherings were the joy of Doug’s life whether for holidays, special events, or just because. He loved to laugh and passed on his sense of humor to all of his kids and grandkids. There are twenty grandchildren that will miss “Papaw” dearly: Avonlea, Jack, Finnegan, Emma, Jay, Annie, Drew, Will, Patrick, Declan, Kathleen, Lucas, Jonah, Amelia, Grace, Liam, Faith, Hope, Uriah, and Judah.

Doug loved America deeply, and he had the highest regard for our country’s veterans. Although he never served in the military personally, he instilled in his family the importance of respecting our freedoms and the people who fought to preserve them. He was a firm believer in exercising the right to vote, and he volunteered with the Republican Party to support local polling stations. He spent many years volunteering with the Dayton Veteran’s Association and supporting the work of the Miami Valley Military History Museum. He never missed a chance to listen to a veteran’s story or to thank them for their service and sacrifice for our country.

Doug loved to encourage creativity and problem solving in children. He was a head judge and volunteer for many years with Odyssey of the Mind/Destination Imagination. His engineering mind was always excited to see the students work together and observe the potential in future generations. Doug was also an avid reader and patron of several local libraries. After retirement, he got involved with the Greene County Public Library system and held various board positions with the Friends of the Library. He loved the annual book sales and looking through the donations for treasures to share with others. He passed that love of reading on to many of his children and grandchildren.

You will be missed, Dad. We love you and look forward to the day when we sit around a table in Heaven eating meatloaf, potato salad, and povitica while we laugh about something ironic or just plain stupid. We will look after each other, and we won’t forget what you taught us.

Donations in Doug’s honor can be made to the Miami Valley Military History Museum (http://mvmhm.com/) and the Greene County Friends of the Library Association (https://greenelibrary.info/xenia/friends-of-the-library/).

Phillip Charles Parr

I did not get to know Doug very well in High School but really have regretted it.  The few times I have talked to him in all the years after H.S. I was really impressed with his gentlenesse and humbleness of spirit, even more than his intelligence, which was so obvious. I was really saddened when I readn about his deah today and I know he will be missed by a great family. At the last reunion in 2018, he came to me after I read the poem about Jesus and said he really loved it.  That is when I really regretted not getting to know him much more.  So glad that we will become great, eternal friends and classmates when I go to where he is. Only there will be no graduation day from that class!