Obituaries, June 3, 2008

Harriet E.

Roellinger

Harriet E. Roellinger, widow of professor Francis X. Roellinger who taught at Oberlin College until his retirement in 1973, died in Chelsea, Mich., on March 18, 2008.

Mrs. Roellinger was born in Youngstown, Ohio, to Paul and Grace Greenwood in 1912, married Frank in September 1938, and moved with him to Yale where he taught for two years.

They met at the University of Michigan, where Mrs. Roellinger earned a B.A. and her husband a Ph.D. In 1940, they moved to Oberlin where Frank taught English and they built a house on Elm Street. Mrs. Roellinger taught and was a librarian in the Oberlin public schools, and served as both a Boy and Girl Scout leader. Her husband died in 1993.

Mrs. Roellinger moved to Kendal at Oberlin in 1999, and from there to Towsley Village at the Chelsea Retirement Center in 2004. She died, from the primary cause of pneumonia, as she had lived: simply, easily, and without burdening anyone else. Her last four years, under the loving care of Towsley's staff, were among her happiest, as her memory loss removed any reason to worry.

Her daughter Margaret Leary (Russ Serbay) of Ann Arbor, Mich., and her son Frank (Diane) of Rochester, Minn., and grandsons Kevin and Daniel survive, as well as her sister Esh Sylvester (Shaker Heights) and Robert Greenwood (Louisville, Ohio) Memorial contributions may be made to the Frank and Harriet Roellinger Scholarship Fund at Oberlin College (Saunjula Staton, 50 W. Lorain St. Oberlin, 44074), or Chelsea Retirement Center, Development Office, 805 West Middle St., Chelsea, Mich., 48118.

Nellie Meints

Nellie Meints (nee Gubser), 97, of Oberlin died May 25, 2008 at Kendal at Oberlin.

She was born April 30, 1911 in Tulsa, Okla. Mrs. Meints attended Chicago Musical College at the age of 16 and returned to Tulsa to play violin professionally.

During World War II she lived in Huntsville, Ala., and Dayton, Ohio, before settling in Hinsdale, Ill., where she continued to play and teach the violin, sometimes to as many as 40 students.

She was active in the Hinsdale and Western Springs Music clubs and played in area orchestras.

She enjoyed sewing, gardening and camping.

Mrs. Meints moved to Oberlin as a founding resident of Kendal at Oberlin and in her first 10 years attended five or more concerts a week at the Oberlin Conservatory of Music.

She continued to play violin into her late eighties and often played quartets with other residents.

She is survived by daughters; Teckla( James) Leyerle of St. Louis, Mo.; Elsa (Robert Russell) Garmire of Hanover, N.H., and Catharina Meints Caldwell of Oberlin; five grandchildren and two great-grandchildren. She was preceded in death by her husband of 55 years, Ralph Meints, in 1988.

A memorial service will be Saturday July 5, 2008 at Kendal at Oberlin. Dicken Funeral Home, Elyria, is in charge of arrangements.