Charlotte "Charley" Bauer

2003 - 2025

News story
By Eric Taunton
Blade staff writer

Charlotte "Charley" Bauer, a nursing student known for her empathy, love of horses, and bravery during hard times, died at Nationwide Children's Hospital in Columbus on Feb. 16. She was 21.

Parents Jeremy and Alyssa Bauer of Sylvania said their daughter died from being immunocompromised after a bone marrow transplant.

Ms. Bauer was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia in May but was declared cancer-free in December, Mrs. Bauer said. Acute myeloid leukemia is a type of cancer that sees the bone marrow make abnormal blood cells.

Ms. Bauer began having several medical complications soon after she was discharged, which led to her return to Nationwide in January.

The parents said they admired their daughter's positivity when she had to undergo medical treatment at the hospital.

"She was just fearless and never flinched," Mrs. Bauer said.

That fearlessness showed itself in several ways, Ms. Bauer's parents said. One way was through a motto she always used: "I can do hard things."

Another example is when Ms. Bauer had to take pain medications because of hip pain, Mrs. Bauer said. Ms. Bauer hated taking pain medications because she didn't like how it made her feel.

"One night, she was in particular discomfort so they gave her a medication that we knew could make her experience some delirium," she recalled. "She and I were talking and doing an activity together and she became delirious. It's almost like talking in your sleep. She noticed it right away and instead of worrying about it, she looked at me and she was like, 'Oh darn, there's that delirium.' ... She was like, 'Well, it is what it is and we're just going to move forward.'"

Ms. Bauer's parents remember their daughter as a young woman who was witty, incredibly funny, and routinely put others before herself.

"Charley's level of empathy has been beyond anything I've ever seen since she was 5 years old," Mrs. Bauer said. "Even in kindergarten, her teacher said there was a young boy in her class with autism. Charley had many friends; she was very social, but she picked him [to be friends with]."

Mrs. Bauer said the child's father approached her one day and told her that Ms. Bauer being friends with her son made a great impact on him.

"He told me, 'You don't know how much of an impact Charley has on our son,'" Mrs. Bauer recalled. "'He doesn't make friends as easily and he can be misunderstood.' Charley didn't care. It didn't matter to her, and she was in kindergarten."

When Ms. Bauer was being treated for her medical complications, she would befriend the child patients on her floor.

When she was 13 years old, she developed a strong passion for helping people with developmental and intellectual disabilities, Mrs. Bauer said.

Jack Bauer, Ms. Bauer's brother, said his sister was "hilarious," the pair having a lot of inside jokes between them.

"We were very close," Jack said.

Ms. Bauer's boyfriend, Jack Burke, called her a positive and happy person.

The two met when they were in high school. They both were helping make a homecoming poster for a mutual friend, he said.

"I don't think there was a mean bone in her body," Mr. Burke said. "Even if something wasn't the way she thought it should be, she'd still have a positive attitude toward it."

Longtime friend Sammy Golding said Ms. Bauer was someone that "never took herself too seriously."

"She was just the most adaptable person," Mr. Golding said. "She could meet anybody where they were at and just make conversation."

The Bauers said they appreciate the support of the Sylvania and OSU communities as well as the complete strangers who showed support through social media.

Charlotte "Charley" Bauer was born on Sept. 18, 2003, to Jeremy and Alyssa Bauer in Toledo.

She was a longtime Sylvania resident, attending Highland Elementary School, Stranahan Elementary School, Timberstone Junior High School, and Southview High School. She graduated from Southview in 2022.

Ms. Bauer then went to the Ohio State University, where she pursued a degree in nursing.

When she attended Stranahan Elementary, she went to school every day with Mr. Bauer as her principal, Mrs. Bauer as one of the kindergarten teachers, and her brother.

"I served as my daughter's principal, my son's principal, and I guess you could say I was my wife's supervisor even though I wasn't my wife's supervisor," Mr. Bauer said. "We would drive sometimes as one family to school."

"We loved it," Mrs. Bauer added. "It was a gift. It was never, ever something that we took for granted. We knew that we were lucky enough to all be together. When the kids would have a bellyache, they would either go to the office to see Dad or come to my room to see me."

Ms. Bauer was something of an equestrian since she was 4 years old, her parents said.

"She would ride for at least three days a week for hours after school," Mr. Bauer said. "She worked at the barn. She rode at different barns locally. ... She has bins and bins of ribbons."

Ms. Bauer knew she wanted to be in the medical field from a young age, Mrs. Bauer said.

She originally wanted to be a veterinarian when she was a toddler because of her love of animals, but it became clear to Ms. Bauer what she wanted to do when she was in second grade.

Mrs. Bauer was in the mall with her daughter during the winter when a man dressed as Santa Claus interacted with a child with health issues.

"A family had a child that was medically fragile and had a lot of tubes and accessories that were keeping the child healthy and safe," she said. "Charley wanted to see how they were going to get that child out of their [medical stroller] to get them in the hands of Santa. They did it so carefully and it was with such compassion. Charley said to me ... 'I want to be a mall Santa.'"

A memorial service will be held at Temple Shomer Emunim in Sylvania at noon Sunday, with a gathering among friends and family to take place from 3 to 7 p.m.

The family asks donations be made to Jack Bauer's Leukemia And Lymphoma Society Student Visionaries of the Year campaign in honor of Charley.

To donate, visit: events.lls.org/tol/svoynwoh25/jbauer#.