Ellen Bierwagen Meyer, beloved wife, mother, and grandmother, died peacefully after suffering from a prolonged debilitating muscle wasting condition on November 16, 2024, in Valparaiso, Indiana, surrounded by her loving family. She was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, on January 25, 1941, the daughter of Esther Marie Louise Predoehl Bierwagen and Paul Arthur Bierwagen. Ellen was confirmed on April 11, 1954, at Pilgrim Evangelical Lutheran Church in Wauwatosa, Wisconsin, and graduated from Milwaukee Lutheran High School.
She graduated with distinction from Valparaiso University (VU) in 1962 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in English. One week later, on June 2nd, she married Fred Meyer, whom she met during her first week at VU. They moved to Bloomington, Indiana, where she completed her Master’s degree in Library Science, and Fred received a PhD at Indiana University. They lived in Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, for two years before settling in Valparaiso, Indiana, in 1967, where Fred had accepted a teaching position at VU.
From 1969 to 1971, Ellen was an Elementary Media Specialist at Jackson Township Elementary in Chesterton, Indiana. From 1974 to 1977, she was the Elementary Media Specialist at Boone Grove Elementary School. Later, from 1980 to 1984, Ellen served as the Head Librarian of the Children’s Department of the Thomas Library, Westchester Public Library System in Chesterton, Indiana. She finished her career at VU with a Faculty Rank as Assistant Professor, first as Department Head of the Reference Library and Coordinator of Online Sourcing from 1984 to 1998, and finally as the Head of Reference Services from 1998 to 2000. In 2000, the VU Alumni Association awarded Ellen the O.P. Kretzmann Award “in recognition of her distinguished and long-time exemplary service as a university employee.”
In 1979, Ellen, Laura, and Sara accompanied Fred on his 6-month sabbatical to Cambridge, England. This experience sparked a life-long love of international travel. From 1988 to 1990, Ellen and Fred were appointed Directors of VU’s Reutlingen, Germany Overseas Center, and enjoyed traveling throughout Europe, often visiting Laura in Germany, the Netherlands, and Poland. They joined a group from VU which traveled to India, and later they visited Sara’s family in England, China, and Indonesia. Favorite destinations included Germany, Hawaii, and Mexico.
In addition to her work, Ellen was an avid reader and a lifelong member of the American Library Association. For many decades, she was a volunteer and trainer for the American Cancer Society’s Reach to Recovery Program, having survived breast cancer at age 36. Ellen was a member of Immanuel Lutheran Church for 57 years. In addition to singing in the church choir, Ellen also sang in the Choral Society and the Bach Institute Choir at VU. She adored the music of Johann Sebastian Bach!!
During retirement, Ellen taught English to recent immigrants at the Valparaiso Boys and Girls Club. Plus, she was a member of the Porter County Community Foundation, serving on the Women’s Fund. For over 40 years, Ellen loved joining friends at their weekly coffee group and was uplifted by their wonderful connections and conversations. Ellen and Fred were members of the Midwest Associates of Higher Education (MAHE) for over four decades, and they were founding members of ReVU, an association of retired VU professors and staff, as well as members of the Polymathic Society.
Ellen wrote in a StoryWorth essay that she “would like to be remembered as a kind person, one who is friendly, modest, interested in other people and their welfare, and has a sense of humor. I would also like to be remembered as a faithful friend and a loving wife, mother, and grandmother.”
Family, friends, and colleagues agree that this is true, and they repeatedly use the words kind, loving, soft-spoken, gentle, caring, generous, and beautiful to describe Ellen. She incorporated these words in her regular acts of kindness, including serving delicious meals for friends and family, gathering people for parties, caring for sick friends, and consistently remembering birthdays with cards. Ellen was very soft-spoken, which could catch you off-guard as she told you a silly story or an anecdote from her past. After a few minutes with Ellen, no matter what language you spoke or your country of origin, you sensed her empathy, luminosity, grace, and positive spirit.
Ellen is survived by her husband, Frederick R. Meyer; her daughters Laura Meyer (Chicago, Illinois) and Sara (Meyer) Bretthauer and Eric Bretthauer and their children Sydney, Rachel, and Blake (Alamo, California); her sister Paula (Bierwagen) Otto and husband Rev. William H. Otto, her brother Dr. Gordon Bierwagen, and several nieces and nephews.
In lieu of flowers, remembrances may be given to Porter County Community Foundation Women’s Fund, Project Neighbors, or Immanuel Lutheran Church.
Visitation will be held Friday, November 29, 2024, at Immanuel Lutheran Church, 1700 Monticello Park Drive, Valparaiso, Indiana 46383, from 1 to 3 p.m., followed by a memorial service at 3 p.m. at the same location.
GUESTBOOK
Ellen, a dear friend from Milwaukee Lutheran High School, Valparaiso University and sorority, Alpha Xi Epsilon. What a wonderful person who always thought of others! She and Fred visited me in Colorado when they came to see Gordon, her brother!. What a treat and so many fun memories. We would reconnect at many reunions and they opened their home to us all when we were in Valpo! You will be missed, Ellen! -Nancy Slinkard
I am so sorry. I did not see Sara’s mother. But I know her daughter Sara Bretthauer. She is very nice women. I know her mother was very nice to Breenice daughter -Shamilla Hakimi
