Lifetime Service Award
The Lifetime Service Award recognizes an individual who has dedicated his or her life to heartfelt service to people, community or church. Inspired by personal faith in God and the ultimate purposes of His kingdom, this individual has made a difference in the lives of others.
2026 - Mary (Burry) Ramseyer ’58
Mary (Burry) Ramseyer ’58 has always been someone who finds ways to stay connected and serve others. After moving to Bluffton from Findlay in eighth grade, she grew up in the community, attended Bluffton High School and eventually continued her education at Bluffton College.
Her Bluffton years were filled with involvement, friendships and, perhaps most memorably, the beginning of her relationship with her husband, Bill Ramseyer ’58. The two began dating when Ramseyer was a junior in high school and continued their relationship through college. On the day of her high school graduation, Bill surprised her with a proposal at First Mennonite Church. They married the following summer between their freshman and sophomore years of college.
Ramseyer initially planned to pursue nursing but quickly realized that teaching was a better fit. She graduated with a degree in education and began a career that would span decades and several states. She taught elementary school before spending 19 years at Laurel Oaks Vocational School, where she helped establish a childcare program and worked with pregnant and parenting students through the GRADS program.
Later, Ramseyer and her husband moved to Missouri and then Virginia, where she served as director of teacher education at Clinch Valley College, now the University of Virginia’s College at Wise. Her husband established the college’s first football program, and together they became deeply involved in the students’ lives and community. Ramseyer served as president of the American Football Coaches Wives Association for many years. Passionate about activism, she also founded the League of Women Voters chapter at Wise and remained active in the organization for nearly 50 years.
After her husband retired from coaching at Wise, they moved to South Carolina and built their beach home. They later spent time in Switzerland while he coached football, an experience that broadened their cultural horizons.
Through each chapter of her life, Ramseyer has remained committed to people. She served within the National Youth Advocacy program for more than 40 years and has actively been their president for 15 years. She continues to volunteer, stay connected with friends and neighbors and make time for family. Looking back, she sees the relationships she formed as one of the greatest gifts of her life.
Her Bluffton experience helped establish that foundation early: learning alongside others, building lasting relationships and finding ways to contribute to the community around her. More than six decades after graduation, those lessons continue to shape the way Ramseyer lives.