Margaret "Peg" (Carey) Byers, 91, formerly of St. Marys, Ohio, passed away peacefully at 11:45pm on Monday, October 30th at Hilliard Assisted and Memory Care in Hilliard, Ohio.

Peg, also known as Mad Margaret to her family and friends, was born on January 20, 1932, in Cincinnati, Ohio. She was the middle child of 5 children to Leroy James Carey and Eleanor (Schroder) Carey. As a young girl, Peg and her family mostly grew up in the downtown Cleveland area. They moved around about every other year, as her father was a successful inventor. She was very proud of the fact that her father invented windshield wipers for military aircraft, and he also was part of an engineering team who created the floor bright/dimmer switch for headlights in automobiles.

Peg graduated from high school in 1950, and after working a few months, she decided to enlist in the Air Force. After her basic training at Lackland AFB in San Antonio, TX, she was stationed at Sampson AFB in Geneva, NY. This is where her life changed when she met the love of her life, Clifford Byers, and they married on November 21, 1953, at Seneca Castle Chapel in Seneca, NY. They were married for 68 years before Cliff's death in December of 2021.

Together they created a family: John, of Las Vegas, NV; Susan (Dale) Sutton of St. Marys; Sandy (Barry) Schumann of Westerville, OH; and Sharon (Jeff) Rehl of Upper Arlington, OH. The family grew larger with the addition of 13 grandchildren: Johnny, Anthony, and Jack Byers; Joe, Jake, Matt, Jeremy, and Jonathan Sutton; Eric Wendel, Sam and Lily Schumann; Danielle Rehl DiFranco and Sydney Rehl; and 10 great-grandchildren.

Peg loved spending time with her family, and she absolutely loved babies. The holidays and birthdays were always special because Peg put her heart and soul into her family and made sure no one was left out.

Peg went back to college at the age of 45 and graduated from THE Ohio State University, Summa Cum Laude, in March of 1980. Her degree was in Education, and she got to teach in the St. Marys school system at McBroom Middle School for several years before her retirement.

Peg was an accomplished baker, having won numerous ribbons and best of show at the Auglaize County Fair. Another hobby that Peg had was writing poetry. She had a true gift with words, and she wrote over 400 poems in perfect rhyme and meter. In 2010 at the age of 78, she self-published her first children's poetry book ("A Bumblebee on My Nose, Caterpillars on My Toes") filled with illustrations from her grandchildren, Danielle and Sydney Rehl.

Peg was a true woman of God. She taught Sunday school at Hilliard United Methodist Church in Hilliard for many years and ran many women's circles for bible studies. After Cliff took a job at Auglaize County Landmark (Auglaize Farmers) in 1969, Peg got involved at Trinity Lutheran Church in Moulton, OH. She and Cliff sang in the choir, and they had beautiful soprano and tenor voices.

Peg was preceded in death by her beloved husband, Cliff; her parents Leroy and Eleanor Carey; her siblings Mary King, Tom and Mike Carey; and her grandson Jeremy Sutton. Family will receive friends at Miller Funeral Home at 1605 Celina Rd in St. Marys, Ohio, on Friday, November 3rd from 2-4 pm and 6-8 pm. Funeral service will be at 10am on Saturday, November 4th, at Miller Funeral Home. Peg will be laid to rest next to her husband at Resthaven Memory Gardens in St. Marys.

Condolences may be expressed and memories shared with Peg's family via: www.millerfuneralhomes.net.