Dora Jean Bumgarner, who was a staple of local school districts for several decades, passed away Thursday.

According to her obituary, Bumgarner was born Sept. 4, 1937, to Harry and Irene Brannon in Cedarville, WVa., and received a bachelor’s degree from Glenville State college and a master’s degree and doctorate from West Virginia University.

She spent five years teaching in Wood County Schools in West Virginia and then started a career at Marietta City Schools that would last 38 years, from 1968 to 2001, and would include roles such as curriculum director, federal programs director, assistant superintendent and finally, superintendent.

Her obituary said she was Superintendent of Marietta City Schools from 1992 to 2001 and was the first and only female superintendent for the district.

She retired, but that wasn’t the end of education for Bumgarner. She served as an interim superintendent at seven Ohio school districts from 2002 to 2018: Lancaster City Schools; Fort Frye Schools at which she served twice; Frontier Local Schools; Caldwell Exempted Village Schools, at which she served twice; East Liverpool City Schools, Northern Local Schools; and New Lexington Schools.

“I don’t really want to (completely retire),” Bumgarner told The Times in March 2013 when she was named interim superintendent at Caldwell Exempted Village Schools. “I like working in different districts.”

During her career and life, Bumgarner made a lasting impression on those who knew her. According to Virginia Buzzar, she met Bumgarner more than 50 years ago when she started working for Marietta City Schools.

“She was a remarkable superintendent and really worked hard for the students of Marietta,” Buzzard said about Bumgarner. “I feel that Marietta has a lot of her in our system … she put her whole self into it and I think we’re going to miss her.”

Buzzard said she and Bumgarner were friends and went to conferences together.

“She was just from Marietta, all the way,” Buzzard said.

Washington County Commissioner Charlie Schilling said he served on the Fort Frye Local Schools Board of Education as a board member while Bumgarner was the interim superintendent in 2011.

He said they were only at Fort Frye Local Schools together for about a year and she was “just a fantastic lady with just a wealth of knowledge when it came to education.”

Schilling said Bumgarner had great leadership skills “someone who really helped us through a troubled time at Fort Frye … (she) helped keep things moving forward in a positive direction.”

Bumgarner was also a member of First Baptist Church in Marietta for more than 60 years, according to her obituary.

William “Milt” Nuzum, a former Marietta Municipal Court Judge, said he met Bumgarner at First Baptist Church in Marietta almost 40 years ago and also knew her from when he was on the Marietta City Schools Board of Education for three years.

Nuzum said Bumgarner was actively involved in church and was a great educator and wonderful contributor to the Marietta School System.

“She was definitely a very committed Christian, a great leader,” Nuzum said. “She had wonderful leadership ability.”

Nuzum said Bumgarner was a person that other people could turn to when they needed direction and she always had an answer to problems, even if it wasn’t the answer being sought. He said people admired Bumgarner’s caliber and character and were lucky if they encountered her on their life’s journey.

“I’m one of the fortunate ones … I’m forever blessed as a result,” Nuzum said about meeting and knowing Bumgarner.

Over the years, Bumgarner received awards for her work in education, including the Outstanding School Administration Award from the Ohio Department of Education in 1985 and the Difference Maker Award from the Ohio Valley Educational Service Center in 2019 and she helped start the Marietta City Schools Academic Excellence in Education Awards that still continues today, according to her obituary.

Bumgarner leaves behind her husband Robert L. Bumgarner, whom she married on Dec. 23, 1964; two sons, Robert Brannon Bumgarner and Steven Gene Bumgarner; and two grandchildren, Caroline Elyse Bumgarner and William Steven Bumgarner.

According to the Marietta Community Foundation website, Bumgarner and her husband started the Bob and Dora Jean Bumgarner Scholarship with the MCF in 2020, which is a $1,500 scholarship given to a Marietta High School student pursuing an undergraduate degree in education. MCF Donor and Program Services Director Britani Merritt said while she never personally met Bumgarner, it was clear she was passionate about education and the scholarship “is a great way for her legacy to continue.”

Bumgarner’s sons said in a joint statement that her family will deeply miss her.

“We are overwhelmed with the love and support of so many and are honored by the impact she had on so many people … We know she is now at peace and she had a life well lived,” they said in the statement.

Bumgarner’s obituary can be viewed on The Times website at https://www.mariettatimes.com/obituaries/2024/05/dora-jean-bumgarner/.