Dr. Austin Ayars

MECHANICSBURG – Dr. Austin T. Ayars, 34, of Mechanicsburg, Ohio, passed away Sunday, June 7, 2015.

He was born October 27, 1980, in London, Ohio. He was a 1999 graduate of Fairbanks High School, where he was Salutatorian of his class. While there Austin played football, was a member of the National Honor Society and FFA, receiving his All-American Farmer Degree. He was a 10-year member of Champaign County 4-H and honored as the Ohio 4-H Boy of the Year. Austin was also a member of the national winning 4-H Dairy Judging team. He graduated from The Ohio State University in 2003 with a degree in Animal Science. While there, he was President of the CFAES Council, University 4-H, and was recognized as a Top 20 Senior in that college. He went on to the School of Veterinary Medicine, graduating in 2007. On July 7, he married Adrienne (Davie) Ayars and the couple moved to Phoenix, AZ, where Austin began his veterinary career at Herd Health Management and then later established his own business, Ayars Veterinary Service. Recently, the family moved back to Mechanicsburg, as Austin and Adrienne wanted to be closer to their immediate families.

He was a member of the American Veterinary Medical Association, the Ohio Veterinary Medical Association and the American Association Bovine Practitioners.

Austin was a loving husband, a devoted father, and a man of great depth and character whose greatest joy in life was taking care of his family. But he also enjoyed coaching and playing rugby as well as paintball. He had a love for Jeeps, knives, pellet guns and dairy cows. He was a handyman who could literally fix anything.

Austin is survived by his parents, John and Bonnie Ayars; his wife, Adrienne (Davie) Ayars; and his children, Lane Wendell, 4 ½, Layla Evelyn Ayars, 2 ½ and a son on the way in July; brothers, Lucas Ayars and Eli Ayars, of Mechanicsburg; grandmother, JoAnn Tuttle; mother and father-in-law, Patrick and Sally Kelley; brothers-in-law, Adam Davie, of Arlington, VA, and Drew Davie, of Sandusky, OH; as well as numerous aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews and best friend, from the Arizona dairy industry, Edgar Amezcua.

He is preceded in death by his grandparents, Wendell B. Tuttle and Jack and Gladys Ayars, and infant brother, Levi Ayars.

A gathering of family and friends will be held 3-8 p.m. on Wednesday, June 10, 2015, in the Mechanicsburg United Methodist Church, 23 South Main St. Funeral services will be at 11 a.m. on Thursday, June 11, 2015, in the church with Rev. William Hlavin and Rev. Dr. Harley Roston officiating. Burial will follow in Maple Grove Cemetery, Mechanicsburg.

In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to Security National Bank, 2 South Main Street, Mechanicsburg, Ohio, for the future education of his children and a possible scholarship/award in Austin's memory. Services are entrusted to SKILLMAN, MCDONALD & VERNON FUNERAL HOME, Mechanicsburg, Ohio.

Condolences may be expressed to the family at www.vernonfh.com.