Mary Louise Styer

MARY LOUISE (BARNHART) STYER

BORN: Born January 7, 1931

PASSED: May 29, 2026

Mary Styer was born in Menomonie, Wisconsin, the second of 5 children born to Arthur H. And Louise A. (Price) Barnhart. She graduated from Menomonie High School in 1948 and attended Milwaukee State Teachers College where she majored in Music. Mary was an accomplished pianist and her children fondly remember her singing and harmonizing to music as she worked around their home. As a teen, she and her sister performed duets in public, where she sang harmony Alto. As a young teen, she became stricken with rheumatic fever and her physicians told her she would never live to be 21, much less be strong enough to have children, but God had other plans for Mary.

She came from a family of readers and writers, and her home has always had floor-to-ceiling bookshelves in most rooms. She was exceedingly proud that all her children were strong readers, who enjoyed extensive research and writing. Her father, two children and a granddaughter have all written books. She spoke fondly of a Friday night tradition as a child, when her daddy would gather everyone around and read a chapter from each of his children’s book selections. This custom exposed her and her siblings to a wide variety of writers and created within each of them the strong desire to learn.

At age 16, she met her future husband, Gerald (Jerry) Styer, at the roller skating rink, where they skated together every weekend. After 5 years of dating, they married shortly after Jerry got out of the Navy at the end of WW2. After marriage, she and Jerry bought a Airstream camper and lived and traveled all over the country. They lived in Michigan, Florida, and Wisconsin during that time, eventually settling in Cornell, Wisconsin, where Jerry opened his own bakery. Mary helped with bookkeeping and with raising their first three children, Mike, Tony and Wendy. In 1967, they moved back to their hometown of Menomonie, Wisconsin where their youngest child, Shari, was born.

Mary was active in her church and was an avid Bible reader and researcher of truth. She and Jerry were baptized in 1971 and moved to Burns, Tennessee in 1974, where she often played the hymns on the piano for the church they attended in Dickson. She was a long-standing member in the United Church of God. During her 54 years attending her church, she had the opportunity through her affiliation to travel to many places, including Czechoslovakia, Thailand and Jordan. A highlight of one of these visits was being able to meet the former Queen Noor of Jordan due to her church connection with the Ambassador Bible Foundation.

Mary held numerous interesting jobs in her lifetime. She was a live-in maid for a wealthy family, a secretary at the historical Tainter Memorial Theater, and worked in the kitchen of a TB sanitarium. She also was passionately involved in causes for the betterment of others. She took on the city political arena in the early 70s to keep fluoride out of the public drinking water in Wisconsin, an unpopular position at that time, but one that has gained scientific recognition in recent years. She also spent many years volunteering at the Dickson County cancer auction. She was a strong advocate for natural and holistic healing, and could tell exactly what vitamins or nutrients one may need to conquer almost any ailment. At 92, she never took any regular ongoing pharmaceutical prescriptions and seldom would even touch an aspirin.

Mary had diverse and interesting hobbies and interests. She enjoyed playing the piano, crocheting, cooking, baking, gardening, and roller skating. She loved reading her Bible, beautiful music, dark chocolate, and the color pink.

Mary adored her family. She was exceptionally proud that all her children attended Ambassador college and constantly mentioned this to anyone who visited her. She took tremendous pride in her children’s and grandchildren’s academic and professional accomplishments.

Visitation: will begin on Tuesday, June 09, 2026 from 4 – 8 PM, and will continue on Wednesday, June 10, 2026 from 10:00 AM – until time of service at Spann Funeral Home.

Funeral Service: will begin at 12:00 PM on Wednesday, June 10, 2026 from the Chapel of Spann Funeral Home.

Interment: will take place on Friday, June 12, 2026 at 1:00 PM at Middle Tennessee State Veterans Cemetery.

Survived By:

Children:

Michael Styer (Cathy)

Tony Styer (Loni)

Wendy Kovalchick (John)

Shari Fooshe (Michael)

10 Grandchildren:

Ben Benayce, Kaitlin Styer, Jennifer (Styer) Greene, David Styer (Hannah) , Brian Styer, David Kovalchick (Prisca), Daniel Kovalchick (Kaitlyn) , Megan Langford (Rhys), Mariah (Fooshe) Stephens (Michael) and Marissa (Fooshe) Del Sol;

8 Great Grandchildren:

Sage Phillips, Gavin Phillips, Eden Phillips, Sera Phillips, Leo Langford, Owen Kovalchick, Max Kovalchick, and Amelia Joy Stephens.

Sisters:

Vivian Miller (Robert)

Doris Rohde (Tom)

Sisters in Law:

Rose (Styer) Arnold

Janice (Styer) Kincade.

Nieces and Nephews:

Karen Seavert, Kevin Barnhart, Marie Miller, Michelle Anomaly, Scott Rohde, Mitzi Gereke, Lori Hoffman and Tim Kincade, and many other in laws and great nieces and nephews.

Preceded By:

Husband: Gerald Styer

Brothers: Herbert Barnhart (Jean) and David Barnhart

Niece: Kathy Calligure

Nephews: Ken Miller and Kraig Arnold.

Arrangements entrusted to Spann Funeral Home & Cremation Services, located in Dickson, Tennessee.

Spann Funeral Home serves families throughout Dickson County including Dickson, Charlotte, Burns, White Bluff, Fairview, Bon Aqua, Lyles, and Cumberland Furnace, as well as other surrounding Middle Tennessee communities.