MaeJean Miedema

MaeJean was born on December 15, 1927, in Chicago, Illinois, the daughter of Arthur and May (Helquist) Adelberg. She married Donald (Don) Miedema on October 21, 1950 in Chicago; he preceded her in death on March 24, 2016.

MaeJean was a graduate of Carl Schurz High School in Chicago and National College of Education in Evanston, Illinois. Following college, MaeJean taught school in the Evanston School District as a first grade teacher. It was at Dewey Elementary School in Evanston that she met Don, who was a sixth grade teacher at the time. They went on to have 65 wonderful years of marriage before Don’s passing in 2016.

After their years in Evanston, MaeJean and Don lived in Homewood, Illinois, and shortly thereafter, in Flossmoor, Illinois. While living in Flossmoor, MaeJean stopped teaching to raise her two sons, John and Paul. In 1966, Don’s job took the family to Rockville, Maryland, where they lived for 11 years. While living in Maryland, MaeJean worked for several years at the Central Intelligence Agency. Upon moving to Springfield in 1977, MaeJean volunteered at the Lincoln Home National Historic Site in the Visitor’s Center.

MaeJean was an active member of the First United Methodist Church of Springfield and the IBT Sunday School Class. She loved attending church and being together with her church family. She was a former member of the PEO Sisterhood. Her greatest joy, however, was spending time with her two grandchildren.

In addition to her husband, MaeJean was preceded in death by her parents and one brother and sister-in-law, Arthur and Marian Adelberg. She is survived by her two children, John Miedema of Mission Viejo, California, and Paul (wife, Imee) Miedema of Springfield, two grandchildren, Christopher (wife, Kristin) Miedema of Phoenix, Arizona, and Grace Miedema of Columbia, South Carolina, one sister, Patricia Adelberg of Niles, Illinois, two nephews, Arthur, Jr. and Mark (wife, Joyce) Adelberg, and a niece, Amy (husband, John) Wittenberg.

The family would like to express our sincere thanks to MaeJean’s wonderful caregivers, Nicole Miller, Tammy Kukowski, and Haley Strawbridge, as well as the Springfield Memorial Hospital Hospice Team.

A memorial service for MaeJean will be held on June 28, 2022 at 11:00 a.m. at First United Methodist Church of Springfield, 2941 Koke Mill Road. The family will hold a visitation one hour prior to the service. Inurnment will be at Union Ridge Cemetery in Chicago, Illinois. In lieu of flowers, memorials can be sent to the First United Methodist Church of Springfield, 2941 S. Koke Mill Rd., Springfield, Illinois 62711. Bisch Funeral Home in Springfield is in charge of arrangements.