Eleanor Wesselink Meyer

Eleanor Joyce Meyer was born on her grandparents’ farm in Northwest Iowa, on February 22, 1926. She was the only child of Henry and Dena Wesselink.

Eleanor attended Central College in Pella, Iowa, for one year. She transferred to the University of Iowa, where she graduated in February 1947, with a Bachelor of Music degree. After graduation she taught vocal music at Hull High School, her alma mater. Eleanor’s teaching career included schools in Clarinda, Waverly, Parkersburg, Epworth, and Des Moines, Iowa; Burr, Nebraska; Prince George’s County, Maryland; and Broward County, Florida.

On August 16, 1950, she married Harold J. Meyer at the First Reformed Church in Hull, Iowa. In 1951 Harold enrolled at Wartburg Lutheran Seminary, and the couple moved to Dubuque, Iowa. Eleanor first became a church organist at the age of 13. She served as organist and/or choir director at every church to which Harold was called.

The churches where they served included:

Faith Lutheran in Cuba City, Wisconsin

Gloria Dei Lutheran in San Jose, California

Hope Lutheran in Burr, Nebraska

St. Paul Lutheran in Des Moines, Iowa

When Harold was a chaplain at St. Elizabeth’s Hospital in Washington, D.C., the family moved to Clinton, Maryland.

In 1972 they accepted a call to Prince of Peace Lutheran Church in Margate, Florida. It was there that the couple bought their first home. It is where Harold died in June 2013, and where Eleanor lived until March 2016, when she moved to Chancellor’s Village in Fredericksburg, Virginia. In December 2022, Eleanor moved in with her daughter and son-in-law. She died in their home on January 27, 2024, following complications of a fall and heart disease.

Besides church and music, Eleanor enjoyed traveling, sewing, caring for plants, and reading scripture. She was a loving and devoted daughter, wife, mother, and grandmother.

Eleanor is survived by one daughter, Deborah M. Davis (William) of Fredericksburg, Virginia; one son, Dirk J. Meyer (Terri) with their children Cameron and Sarina of Fairfax Station, Virginia; grandson Carl Davis (Aidan) of Asheville, North Carolina; granddaughter Rachel Davis McCarty (Ryan) of Salt Lake City, Utah; and four great-grandsons Russell, Griffin, and Beckett Davis of Asheville, NC, and Hendrik J. McCarty of Salt Lake City.

Following the funeral service at Christ Lutheran Church, Fredericksburg, VA on Saturday, February 17th, at 11 AM, Eleanor will be buried beside Harold at the South Florida National Cemetery in Lake Worth, Florida.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made in her name to Christ Lutheran Church, Feed the Children Program.

Online condolences may be sent at www.mullinsthompsonfredericksburg.com