Constance Winbigler "Connie" Lahr

Born on August 21, 1925, in Jeromesville, to the late Forrest (from Jeromesville) and Bonnie Board (from West Virginia) Winbigler, she spent her young childhood years in Jeromesville, and then moved to Dover, where she lived a very active, rewarding, and accomplished life until she joined her Creator on Tuesday, November 26th, 2019, at the age of 94. Connie had faced challenges the past three years brought on by cognitive decline.

She attended Dover High School where she developed into an accomplished piano player, and then took up the Glockenspiel, playing it in the Dover marching band for four years. After graduation, she attended Miami University for two years, majoring in biology, but, at the onset of World War II, dropped out and joined the war effort on a team of Rosie-the-Riveters, riding a “victory bus” daily to the Canton-Akron area to help build warplanes. At the end of the war, she met John Retzler Lahr (from Parral) on a blind date. The couple fell in love, and married in 1945. Within six years, Connie and John had three children, Jessica Jo, John Jeffrey, and Rebecca Jane. Over a span of time, her husband John developed health issues that required Connie to begin using her substantial seamstress and home decorating sewing skills to support the family. She eventually became John’s sole caregiver; he later passed away in 1974. By this time, Connie had become a first grade teacher in Midvale, then Dover, and also attended Muskingum College to complete her bachelor’s degree in elementary education. For the next 25 years, Connie devotedly pursued her career in education as a first grade teacher in Dover. She was often approached in all walks of her life by admiring former students who wished to recall happy memories they had of her classes.

Connie was an engaged active supporter and proponent of the Dover Education Association (DEA), and became the organization’s Secretary and ultimately President for two terms. She often contributed to grade school programs using her skills as a pianist. Connie thoroughly enjoyed regaling all listeners with very entertaining stories of her youngsters’ crazy and hilarious antics in class. She often threatened to write a book immortalizing these wonderful stories that would likely embarrass some of her many former students! She also had great gusto for contract-duplicate bridge in which she had earned Life Master status, and then educated herself to become a Director of proper duplicate bridge play. Additionally, Connie loved golf, reading, and the intricate knitting and sewing needed for all kinds of cute craft projects. She was a member of Dover’s Grace Evangelical Lutheran Church, was active in the Junior Clionian and College Clubs, several card clubs, and the Piece Makers - a group of quiltmakers, which resulted in her creating dozens of beautiful quilts many of which are now cherished by her delighted extended family members.

Connie is survived by her three devoted children, Jessica, Jeff, and Rebecca (Dale Keener); her three beloved grandchildren, Tracy Connor, Brian Keener (Cathy), and Sarah Keener; and her seven cherished great-grandchildren, Makenna, Teegan, and Kylee Connor, Brandon and Patrick Keener, and Abigayle and Gillian Edwards.

Besides her parents and her husband, John, Connie was preceded in death by her sister, Barbara Gibbs.

Family and friends are invited to call at the Toland-Herzig Funeral Home & Crematory, Dover, on Saturday, December 21, 10 – 11 a.m. A service celebrating Connie’s life will follow at 11 in the funeral home, with Pastor Donald L. Rice Jr. officiating. Burial of her cremated remains will be with her husband in Dover Burial Park. Following the committal, there will be a lunch in the Toland-Herzig Monarch Center on the Boulevard in Dover. To sign an online guestbook and share a fond memory of Connie, please visit the Obituaries link on the Toland-Herzig website.

In lieu of flowers, contributions in Connie’s memory may be made to the charity of the donor’s choice, Crossroads Hospice, or any group seeking to help those in cognitive decline.