OWENSVILLE, Ohio — The Clermont County Fair dedicated its new maintenance barn during this year’s fair, naming the building in memory of longtime Owensville residents Ray and Mary Jo Hawley after their granddaughter purchased the facility’s naming rights.
Stacie Hawley bought the naming rights at the request of her father, Ray Hawley, allowing him to honor his parents, according to a Facebook post from the fair. The dedication took place during the 2026 Clermont County Fair, which ran July 26 through Aug. 1 at the fairgrounds on Locust Street.
J. Raymond "Ray" Hawley and Mary Jo Hawley spent their lives in Owensville, raising a family and running a family business, the fair said in its post. Ray Hawley, who died in October 2024 at age 93, was a volunteer firefighter for 25 years and a co-founder of the Stonelick Township Life Squad, according to his obituary. Mary Jo Hawley, a lifelong Owensville resident and parishioner at St. Louis Church, died in December 2023 at age 93. The couple had been married 72 years.
The Hawley name remains attached to Kopp Hawley Insurance Agency, a Main Street business in Owensville that has operated since 1948 and is now run by Ray Hawley, according to Better Business Bureau records.
The Clermont County Agricultural Society, which organizes the annual fair, oversees the fairgrounds at 1000 Locust St.
The information contained in this story was obtained from the Clermont County Fair.