Ina Dell Towers obit

Ina Towers

June 24, 1934 – July 20, 2026

 She was not on the list.

Ina Dell Towers, 92, of Gahanna, Ohio, passed away peacefully at her home on July 20, 2026. Born June 24, 1934, in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and raised in Belmont, Michigan, Ina lived a long, adventurous, and deeply loving life, the kind that leaves a room a little brighter and family and friends a little closer.

Ina's story was anything but ordinary. As a young woman, she took the field as an outfielder in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League, an achievement for which she is honored at the National Baseball Hall of Fame. After completing a year at Michigan State University following her high school graduation, she proudly enlisted in the United States Army. In the years that followed, she built a career as a computer programming lead for the State of Ohio, bringing the same sharp mind and steady determination to her work that she brought to everything else.

Ina Dell Towers compiled a career batting average of with 0 home runs and 0 RBI in her 0-game career with the Grand Rapids Chicks. She played during the 1953 season.

If baseball was a chapter, golf was the throughline of Ina's life. At the age of 12, she became the first and only female caddie at a local course and fell in love with the sport—a passion that would define her journey. Ina went on to compete in tournaments, including USGA and Franklin County events, and treasured the friendships the game gave her, traveling with different groups just for the joy of playing a round together.

But those who loved Ina remember her less for what she did than for who she was. She had a positive, no-nonsense way about her and a sense of humor that made her the funniest storyteller anyone knew; she could hold a whole room with a single tale. Family came first, always. She thought nothing of traveling countless miles to be there for a graduation, a wedding, or an ordinary Sunday, because being present for the people she loved was simply who she was. She was generous in the quietest way, meeting a need the moment she saw one, and she had a rare gift for making every person feel valued and seen. What those closest to her will miss most is her genuine care and interest in their lives.

Ina is survived by her beloved life partner of 55 years, Betty Anewalt; her brother, Edwin Towers (late wife Georgia); her sister, Terry Geissel (Lewis Geissel); and many cherished nieces and nephews, who were the delight of her life. She was preceded in death by her parents, Ida Mae and Dewey Towers; her sisters, Margaret Evelyn Stewart (Kenneth V. Stewart) and Barbara Luce (Harold Luce); and her brothers, Bill Towers (Norma Towers) and Kenneth Towers.

In lieu of flowers, the family asks that you honor Ina in the way she would have loved best: perform an act of kindness for someone in need or make a gift to a charity close to your heart. Play a round for her and tell a good story.