Joseph John Bayer

Joseph John Bayer, 76 – dedicated father, grandfather, friend, and animal lover, passed away in his home in Paden, OK, suddenly on Monday, December 5th, 2022, due to natural causes.

Joseph was born on June 22, 1946, to Joseph Henry and Mary Ann LaGreca Bayer in Omaha, NE. His graduation from Creighton Prep HS was followed by an interesting college life which included a year each at the University of Madrid in Spain and the Sorbonne University in Paris and culminated with his graduation from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln with a degree in anthropology.

After graduating, he transferred to New York City where he met his wife Maria, they got married in late 1970 and shortly thereafter moved to Bacolod City, Philippines where he worked in the sugar cane industry. During the 9 years that he lived in the Philippines he learned to speak the dialect fluently, embraced the local cuisine (he was fearless when it came to trying food), bought and flew his own 5-seater Cessna and raised two daughters, Danielle and Natashya.

In 1980 he moved back to the US with his girls and lived in Southern California for the next 12 years, where he worked as an executive recruiter primarily in the pharmaceutical field, his new hobbies began learning to sail the ocean blue and working on his classic Mercedes.

After becoming an empty nester, he again caught the travel bug and went to Florida where he started his own business and manufactured beautiful custom-built furniture for various yacht companies. While in Florida he transitioned from urban living to country life and bought his first Egyptian Arabian horse, there was no turning back after that. As the herd grew, he decided to relocate in 2011 to a rancher's life in the peaceful countryside near Paden, Oklahoma.

Joe loved learning; he spoke four languages fluently as well as a few others passably. As a life-long learner he took many classes at community colleges to continue expanding his knowledge base, long car rides with his daughters meant learning at least one new poem during the trip. There was not an animal he did not like, and his menagerie has included at one point or another a monkey, owls, a giant land tortoise, peacocks, a pack of mixed wolves, and a wild pig. His new passion with horses prompted him to also take classes in veterinary science to allow him to care for his expanded herd. He could fix anything and was constantly thinking of new ways to improve on things. There was not a time when he did not have some project at hand.

Joseph was predeceased by his parents, many aunts and uncles and his nephews Patrick and Matthew. He is survived by his daughters, Danielle and Natashya, his grandchildren, Simon, Silas, Sascha and Alexandra, his siblings, Dick, Bill, Jean, Jim and Russ and many nieces and nephews.

Joe’s kindness, optimism, humor, honesty, and sense of adventure will be missed dearly by those who knew and loved him.