B. Marie Byers was a natural leader and always ready to nurture a good idea

B. Marie Byers always seemed to be starting something.

From local recreation programs to the Lioness Club to Discovery Station, the hands-on children's museum in downtown Hagerstown, Byers was a vital part of their inception.

For 30 years, from 1970 to 2000, she served on the Washington County Board of Education — longer than any other member. For half of that time, she was the board's president.

She also served as president of the Maryland Association of Boards of Education, Northeast regional director of the National School Boards Association and on various state and national educational panels. Congress appointed her to serve on the National Education Commission on Time and Learning.

Her passing on March 28 at age 89 prompted current Board of Education President Melissa Williams to remark during this week's work session that "B. Marie Byers was a dynamic force for good … for education … and for children in our community. She had an ability to champion a cause and unite others around it. She was not one to take 'no' for an answer. She worked hard, and she did it all with a smile."

For her commitment to community service, she was named The Herald-Mail's Person of the Year in 2014.

B. Marie Byers named 2014 Herald-Mail Person of the Year

'People were worker bees'

Born Betty Marie Zimmerman in 1935, she came to Hagerstown with her family as an infant. She revealed to The Herald-Mail in 2014 that her parents started calling her by her middle name because "Betty" sounded like "daddy" when her sister Ella said it.

Public service was a family trait. Her father, Harry R. Zimmerman, was a manufacturing manager at Pangborn Corp. and served on the Washington County Planning Commission. Her mother, Marja, graduated from Hagerstown Business School and served as commissioner of Girl Scouts in Washington County.

Her childhood was shaped by World War II.

"Growing up in World War II was powerful," she told The Herald-Mail in an interview. "It was scary, but it was powerful. Everyone worked together for patriotic freedom. And you did every little part you could do.

"People were worker bees. No one was sitting around bored and wondering what to get into."

Her mother died when she was 14. Tasked with organizing meals for the family, "I grew up in a hurry," she said.

After graduating from Hagerstown High School, Byers attended Towson State Teachers College. She finished in three years so she could be a senior when her fiancé, Jack Byers, left service.

She married Jack, whom she'd met at St. John's Lutheran Church, when she was 20. They had three children and had been married 67 years when Jack died in 2022.

Byers taught elementary school in Hagerstown for six years, but took "unpaid leave" to raise her children.

B. Marie Byers says goodbye to Discovery Station

'A true advocate for our children'

But she never took leave of her commitment to education or what she called "lifelong learning."

And her public service and support for nonprofits influenced a number of others who've gone on to serve the Washington County community.

"She handed me my diploma in 1975," said former Washington County Public Schools Superintendent Boyd Michael.

"In my memory, there was always Mrs. Byers," he said. "Back to my teaching days, we would invite the school board to our FFA banquet every year (at Clear Spring High School) … and Mrs. Byers would come frequently if not always. Throughout my career, I can just remember her always being part of the school board.

"She was a true advocate for our children in Washington County, wanted to see the very best for our children, thought of innovative ideas or supported innovative ideas of superintendents that served with her as a school board member."

Boyd said Byers "served not only our county well, but served the state well."

Former Washington County Commissioner Linda Irvin served a term on the school board with Byers. "Marie was part of my learning processes, she helped me a lot," Irvin told The Herald-Mail. "There were times when we disagreed. But never nasty; we came to came to an agreement and we worked together. That was the kind of a person she was. She didn't carry grudges."

Irvin said she learned from Byers that "any good school board member needs to learn how to be gracious, and how to look at other people's opinions … learning to disagree and not get angry about that. Learning to take everybody else's opinion in stride while you were working on a project. Those are things that she taught me."

Byers was "really good at getting people together," Irvin said. The other thing she'll remember about Byers, she said, is "the constant reaching out for new ideas."

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'Marie had a knack for getting people to say "yes"'

One of those new ideas evolved into Discovery Station. Byers pursued that idea until it was brought to fruition, and served as the museum's first executive director.

"I worked closely with Marie when Discovery Station finally acquired the lease at 101 W. Washington St.," said former Maryland Assistant Secretary of Commerce Tom Riford. At the time, Riford was CEO of the Convention and Visitors Bureau, and joined the Discovery Station board — eventually serving as its president.

"Marie had a knack for getting people to say 'yes.' She was instrumental in starting (the fundraiser) Hangarfest, also.

"She was someone in the community that made a difference and gave of herself."

And she nurtured protégés.

"Marie was the one that hired me at Discovery Station," said Brittany Wedd, who is now executive director of Children in Need. "So my entire nonprofit career is because she took a chance on me."

Wedd began as assistant director at Discovery Station and took over as executive director after Byers retired.

"She was instrumental in getting Discovery Station to the point that it was right before we rebranded and shifted things over to focus more on theme-related stuff," Wedd said.

"She really went above and beyond; she was responsible for building the entire volunteer team because she had such a way of connecting people who shared a passion about the mission of the organization, and also supporting kids' education, that everybody was just enamored by the whole concept and just got really involved because of her."

One of her favorite memories, Wedd said, was when Discovery Station partnered with the Barbara Ingram School for the Arts for Titanic Night — Byers assigned students roles to act out based on different passengers on the ill-fated ship.

The event had been a celebration of volunteer Norm Little, who had built a replica of the Titanic. Byers "just really made it feel like a magical evening," Wedd said, "and we had a little girl who came down from New York City because she was so obsessed with the Titanic, and she'd just finished chemotherapy. Marie really made that a reality and made that possible for this child."

Byers co-founded the Washington County Youth Golf Association, served as board president for Hagerstown Goodwill Industries, and served on the boards of the Washington County Free Library, Hagerstown Junior College, the Maryland Symphony Orchestra and Leadership Hagerstown.

She is survived by three children, five grandchildren and two great-grandchildren. A service in celebration of her life will be held at noon April 13 at the Douglas A. Fiery Funeral Home, 1331 Eastern Blvd. North, Hagerstown.

In lieu of flowers, her family suggests donating to charitable organizations such as the Discovery Station, Doey’s House, Haven Lutheran Church or Menno Haven in Chambersburg, Pa.

"Her legacy is one that's founded in her her capability of, like I mentioned, bringing people together for different causes to better the community," Wedd said.

"I was talking with a former board member last night about Marie and we joked that she has probably already organized a volunteer group in Heaven to form a museum to welcome people."

Because after all, B. Marie Byers always seemed to be starting something.

This article originally appeared on The Herald-Mail: Educator and Discovery Station founder B. Marie Byers dead at 89