Marylouise D. Meder, Emporia
The funeral for Marylouise D. Meder, professor emeritus at Emporia State University, will be at 2 p.m. Thursday in the First Congregational Church. The Rev. Lee Hoskins will conduct the service. Burial will be in Danbury, Conn. The family will meet friends from 5 to 7 p.m. Wednesday at Charter Funerals-Emporia Chapel.
Memorial contributions may be made to Emporia State University Foundation, 1500 Highland St., Emporia, KS 66801.
Miss Meder died Thursday, March 13, 2008, at her home in Emporia. She was 81.
The daughter of Francis B. and Ruth Dunham Meder, she was born at Danbury, Conn. She was the last Meder of ancestors who lived in New England dating back to the 1600s. Her lineage also includes John Webster, fifth governor of Connecticut, and Noah Webster, noted lexicographer on her mother’s side.
She graduated from Mary Washington College in Fredericksburg, Va., with a bachelor’s degree in history; from Carnegie Mellon in Pittsburgh, Pa., with a master’s degree in library science; from Trinity College in Hartford, Conn., with a master’s degree in history; and from the University of Michigan with a doctorate in library science.
In addition to independent work in libraries, Miss Meder taught in the Graduate School of Library Science at Drexel University, the Graduate School of Library Service at Rutgers State University in New Jersey, Texas Woman’s University, and the University of Kentucky.
She moved to Emporia in 1970 and taught in the School of Library and Information Management at Emporia State University. She was appointed Professor Emeritus upon her retirement in 1991.
She published many articles in scholarly journals and other publications and among numerous other honors, she was listed in Who’s Who in Library Service, Who’s Who of American Women, and Personalities of the Midwest. Considering education of utmost importance and to support the growth of professionalism in Library Science, Miss Meder created fellowships and scholarships at her alma maters. After retirement, she worked to support the appreciation for national heritage by providing grants to the National Trust for Historic Preservation and the Eisenhower Center in Abilene.
She was a member of the First Congregational Church and the church’s choir. She was active in many professional, civic and historic organizations, including the Daughters of the American Revolution, serving as past president and recent treasurer of the local chapter. She also was active in P.E.O. Chapter ES, Kiwanis Club, the Alcuin Society, Kansas Commission for the Humanities, Kansas Library Association, the Medieval Academy, the Connecticut Historical Association, the American Association of University Women and the American Association of University Professors. Animals, nature and the environment were of concern to Miss Meder; she regularly supported related organizations and gave a home to several rescued cats over the years.
She was a world traveler, having visited Europe, Asia, Australia and New Zealand, Near East, Iceland and Central America, along with Hawaii and Alaska.
Miss Meder is survived by her sister, Sylvia Meder St. Jean of Reston, Va., three nieces, two nephews, three great-nieces, and two great-nephews.