James G. Koogler

KOOGLER, James G. (Jimmy)

Jimmy Koogler, 69, of Fairborn, died on May 11, 2026. He was born on September 6, 1956 in Dayton, the son of the late Casper G. and Barbara A. (Forsyth) Koogler. A 1974 graduate of Fairborn Baker High School, Jimmy was a lifelong resident of Fairborn except for a six-year period when he and his wife Lisa lived in Lebanon, Ohio.

He married Lisa E. (Morrow) Koogler on April 28, 1979 and they raised two successful children, Adam and Amy. Jimmy and Lisa dated for five years while attending Wright State University and he graduated in 1979 with a BS in Management. He demonstrated remarkable dedication, working his way thru the F.W. Woolworth Co. training program while attending W.S.U. and working 30 hours per week.

He was hired in March 1974 at the Fairborn F.W. Woolworth store on Broad Street and eventually he was transferred to the Woolworth store in the Van Buren Shopping Center in Kettering as an assistant manager. His first store as a manager for the Woolworth Co. was in Dillonvale Shopping Center in Cincinnati. In November 1980 he was transferred to the Hyde Park store as manager and he loved this store because it had a garden center and he was responsible for ordering the plants, etc. for all of the stores in Cincinnati.

In July 1984 Jimmy changed companies and went to work for Odd Lots (Big Lots) for 5 years.  He managed the West Town store, the Fairborn store and lastly the store located on Wilmington Pike in Kettering.

In 1989, Jimmy went to work for Revco which later became CVS. He managed the West Town store in Dayton. Later he was transferred to the Fairborn Revco which was next to K-Mart on Dayton Yellow Springs. He oversaw the building and moving of the store to the corner of Beaver Valley Road and Dayton Yellow Springs. He managed this location for almost 24 years.

In 2016, Jimmy went to work for Dollar General. He became manager of the Dollar General on N. Main Street in Dayton. Next he became manager of the Dollar General on Kauffman Avenue in Fairborn. He had to quit because of his health in Jan. 2020. He officially retired September 1, 2021. He worked in retailing for 46 years.

In Jimmy’s spare time he loved to fish and collect 1955-57 model Thunderbird cars and other tems with T-Birds on them. Jimmy also loved to make bird houses, etc. On Sundays during football season he loved to watch the Cincinnati Bengals on TV. For over 15 years Jimmy was a Cub Scout and Boy Scout leader. He had 4 young men earn their Eagle awards in his troop. He often spent a week’s vacation at scout summer camp with the young men. Jimmy also was a Girl Scout leader and helped with Amy’s troop.

Jimmy and his family participated in the 4th of July parade and Sweet Corn festival with the Scouts, and he also helped with Fairborn’s High School track team. Over the years Jimmy and his family enjoyed traveling to 35 states during the summertime.

In Feb. 2017, Jimmy was diagnosed with prostate cancer. He fought a very long and tough battle. He was in some clinical trials at The James Hospital in Columbus. He had radiation and chemo treatments several times. On April 11, 2026 he decided to be pain free and get Hospice care here at home. His battle ended sometime during the night a few weeks later.

In addition to his parents he was preceded in death by a brother, David; special grandma Edwinna (Horn) Forsyth; father-in-law Ted Morrow and mother-in-law, Shirley (Coomer) Morrow (Chicky). He will be greatly missed by his wife of 47 years; son Adam J. and wife Pantea and grandson, Cyrus; daughter Amy E. and Zach; special cousin, Debbie (Jasinski) Fraley and husband Rod. Also, there are many other relatives and friends who will miss Jimmy.

Jimmy’s family would like to thank Hospice of Dayton for their help and kindness. Also, there are many doctors and nurses at Kettering Health and those at The James Hospital that helped Jimmy a lot. If you want to honor Jimmy you can make a donation to the Prostate Cancer Foundation, 1250 Fourth Street, Santa Monica, CA. 90401, www.pcf.org.

A funeral service will be held on Saturday May 23, 2026 at 11:30 A.M. at the Belton-Stroup Funeral Home, 422 E. Dayton-Yellow Springs Rd., Fairborn, Pastor Mark Koogler officiating. The family will receive friends from 9:30 A.M. until the time of service at the funeral home. Burial will follow at the Byron Cemetery.