Dr. Margret Helene Janssen Bayer

Dr. Margret H. Bayer, 82, of Crozet Virginia died at the University of Virginia Hospital on May 12, 2014, with her husband Manfred at her side.  She was born in Germany on July 8, 1931, to Hildegard Janssen and Dr. Ernst Johann Janssen.  She is survived by her husband, Dr. Manfred Erich Bayer, to whom she was married for 55 years; she is also survived by her daughters, Dr. Ada-Helen Bayer Volentine of North Garden Virginia, and Dr. Thora Ilin Bayer of New Orleans Louisiana, and by her granddaughter, Anika Helene Volentine of North Garden Virginia. Margret received a rerum naturalium (Natural Science) doctoral degree in Botany, and a prestigious Habilitation accreditation from the University of Hamburg, Germany.  After uprooting with her family to the United States in 1962, she worked at the Fox Chase Institute for Cancer Research in the fields of botany, microbiology, and cancer research, and at the Lyme Disease Association where she conducted groundbreaking Lyme disease research in preliminary chain reactions.  She was also a professor at the University of Hamburg, University of Lausanne Switzerland, and the University of Pennsylvania. Margret lived a full, rich 82 years loving her family, friends, traveling, nature, art (producing beautiful drawings and watercolors throughout her life), and enjoyed puzzles and games.  She also adored her and Manfred’s ocean-side summer cottage in Peggy’s Cove, Nova Scotia; indeed, per her wishes, her ashes will be laid to rest at St. Peter’s Anglican Church in Hackett’s Cove, Nova Scotia. Family will receive friends at a memorial gathering at 4pm on Friday May 23, 2014, at the Teague Funeral Home in Charlottesville, Virginia. Recognizing Margret’s love of botany and nature, one may hang a birdhouse or plant flowers or a tree in her memory.  Alternatively, donations in memory of Margret may be made to The Lyme Disease Association (lymediseaseassociation.org).