Leah M. Maier, 98, beloved wife of Dr. Walter A. Maier, Jr., passed away on Saturday, March 29, at Parkview Regional Hospital. Born on Sept. 19, 1926, she spent her formative years in Elma, New York, graduating from nearby East Aurora High School. She served as secretary to the Superintendent of Secondary Education in East Aurora and attended Buffalo State University until 1951, when she married the Rev. Walter A. Maier, Jr. Leah was actively engaged in the work of their churches in New York, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin. She later did secretarial work for Sangamon County and for a CPA firm in Springfield, Illinois. After moving with Concordia Theological Seminary to Fort Wayne, Indiana, she was the secretary for the seminary’s publication Concordia Theological Quarterly, served in various roles in the Seminary Guild, and was involved in activities at their church, St. Paul Lutheran. Leah is best known and remembered for her amazing gift of hospitality. She was a gourmet cook, entertaining elegantly for friends, seminary students, and family. There was always room for one more at her table.
Leah was preceded in death by her beloved husband of 68 years, Dr. Walter A. Maier, Jr. She is survived by her sons, Dr. Walter A. Maier III (Nancy) of Fort Wayne and Dr. David P. E. Maier (Patricia) of Frankfort, Michigan; six grandchildren, Leah (Kyle) DeWees, Joel (Shae) Maier, James Maier, Hannah (Garrett) Wenzelburger, Sara Maier, and Eden Nicole Maier; and eight great-grandchildren, Beckett, Avery, and Grayson DeWees, Owen and Calihan Maier, and Luke, Ella, and Madeline Wenzelburger.
At Leah’s request, there will be a private family service. Burial will be in Concordia Cemetery Gardens, Fort Wayne. Memorials may be given to The Dr. Walter A. Maier Student Scholarship Endowment of Concordia Theological Seminary, St. Paul Lutheran Church, Lutheran Hour Ministries (LHM), or the locally-originating TV program, Worship Anew. Hockemeyer & Miller Funeral Home, Fort Wayne is caring for arrangements. Condolences and memories of Leah may be left online at www.hockemeyermillerfh.com
