Marie Ashmus was a resident of Bay Village, Ohio from 1974 until her death in 2021.  Born and raised in Northeast Ohio, she was second generation Japanese American and one of Bay Village’s first Asian residents. Marie was a teacher in Bay from 1974 to 2008. During her tenure, she taught thousands of kids at Normandy, Westerly, and Bay Middle schools. She was one of the first teachers in the gifted and talented education (GATE) program in the school district, and taught third grade, first grade, and, for many years, kindergarten. So many Bay students got their great educational starts in her classroom! Marie also inspired older district students through the Bay High student aide externship. Through the externship, high school students could receive educational credit for helping a teacher in an elementary classroom. Marie welcomed dozens of high school students into her classroom and many of them ended up choosing education as a career.

Marie’s love for teaching was reflected in how adored she still is by her former students. Every time she set foot in any local establishment, especially the local supermarkets, she was approached by former students and parents and treated like a local celebrity. She was amazing at remembering her students and loved catching up with each of them.

Her expertise was recognized when, after nomination by her students’ parents, she became the very first K-12 classroom teacher to be named the Outstanding Alumnus of the Michigan State University College of Education. Every previous recipient of the honor had been a college professor or researcher, but Marie focused the spotlight on the teachers who apply creative and effective methods to classroom education.

Marie’s commitment to the community extended to her family life. Her husband, Keith, is a founder and longtime supporter of the Bay Village Foundation and her two kids plus her niece and nephew graduated from Bay High School.

In 2018, Marie was diagnosed with Multiple Systems Atrophy, a rare disease that interferes with the ability of the brain to manage the functions of the body that most of us take for granted—regulating blood pressure, balance, walking, swallowing, hand and finger coordination, digestion, and on and on. As she continued her brave fight against this debilitating disease, she received comfort and support from her fellow Bay Village residents and from the MSA community on the Defeat MSA Facebook pages. For more information about MSA, go to www.defeatmsa.org. Her goal has been to increase awareness of this terrible affliction, and her fund will advance this effort to educate others.