Orono - Helen Jane Meier, nee Dahlman, 92, passed away peacefully before dawn Sunday, October 23, 2022. In the weeks, days, and hours prior to her passing, she was visited by her extended family.
Helen was born on January 22, 1930 in Vermillion, South Dakota to Carl and Georgina (Almlund) Dahlman. Following graduation from Vermillion High School in 1948, Helen attended the University of South Dakota, where she met the love of her life, Charles (“Chuck”) Meier, recently discharged from Army service in Alaska. Helen graduated with a degree in Business Education in 1952. Following graduation, Helen and Chuck were married, and a year later moved to Akron, Ohio with their infant son Steven. Nancy was born next and the family then settled in Stow, Ohio when Douglas was born.
South Dakota natives Helen and Chuck made Stow their second hometown for over 50 years. Throughout those decades, Helen was active in the life of her community, and her church, and found great joy and purpose in her work with the Summit County Board of Elections, the Friends of the Stow Library, the Stow Tree Board, the Stow Historical Society, the Stow Republican Club, the League of Women Voters, and the Wyoga Lake Women’s Club.
Helen also put her knack for writing, and her ability to connect with people, to work as a columnist for the Stow Sentry and Record Courier, intermingling her own experiences with local events, color, and personalities in her “Around Stow” and “Speaking of Stow” columns, which ran for over a decade.
In 2011, the couple relocated from their beloved home in Stow to their retirement destination, Dirigo Pines in Orono, Maine, to be close to their daughter Nancy’s family in Maine.
Throughout her life, Helen took pride in many things, above all, her husband, children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren. She was also fiercely proud of her Swedish heritage, her South Dakota roots, and her beloved yellow 2003 Volkswagen Beetle. Helen greatly anticipated the Meier family's annual summer trek back to South Dakota, spending precious weeks visiting with family and friends, attending the Midsummer festival, and enjoying long conversations over coffee.
She was predeceased by her husband, Chuck, her four brothers: Robert, James, Herbert, and Richard Dahlman, and by her granddaughter, Rachel.
Helen is survived by her three children: Steven Meier (Roberta) of Miller Beach, Indiana; Nancy Connor (Jonathan) of Old Town, Maine; and Douglas Meier (Wendy Wittmann) of Reno, Nevada. She is also survived by seven grandchildren -- Nicholas Meier (Sandra), Danielle Ross (Patrick), Stefan Meier (Taylor), Anne Connor, Mariel Brown (Ivan), Henry Meier, and Walter Meier – and by five great grandchildren: Jonnie, Russell, Simeon, Rachel, and Patrick, and by many nieces and nephews from both sides of her extensive family.
The family wishes to thank the staff at Dirigo Pines for their patient, loving care during Helen’s residence in the Meadowbrook neighborhood. We also wish to thank Beacon Hospice for their very caring team.
The family invites relatives and friends to visit from 1:00 - 2:00 p.m. Friday, October 28, 2022, at Brookings-Smith, 133 Center St., Bangor where a funeral service will begin at 2:00 p.m. All are welcome to share conversation and refreshments at the Family Reception Center of Brookings-Smith, 163 Center St., Bangor immediately following the service.
Interment and a memorial service will be held at Bluff View Cemetery in Vermillion, South Dakota in the spring of 2023. Donations in Helen’s memory may be sent to the Crazy Horse Memorial https://donate.crazyhorsememorial.org/ or to the Disabled American Veterans https://www.dav.org/
Condolences to the family may be expressed at BrookingsSmith.com
To order memorial trees or send flowers to the family in memory of Helen Jane Meier, please visit our flower store.
Helen was born on January 22, 1930 in Vermillion, South Dakota to Carl and Georgina (Almlund) Dahlman. Following graduation from Vermillion High School in 1948, Helen attended the University of South Dakota, where she met the love of her life, Charles (“Chuck”) Meier, recently discharged from Army service in Alaska. Helen graduated with a degree in Business Education in 1952. Following graduation, Helen and Chuck were married, and a year later moved to Akron, Ohio with their infant son Steven. Nancy was born next and the family then settled in Stow, Ohio when Douglas was born.
South Dakota natives Helen and Chuck made Stow their second hometown for over 50 years. Throughout those decades, Helen was active in the life of her community, and her church, and found great joy and purpose in her work with the Summit County Board of Elections, the Friends of the Stow Library, the Stow Tree Board, the Stow Historical Society, the Stow Republican Club, the League of Women Voters, and the Wyoga Lake Women’s Club.
Helen also put her knack for writing, and her ability to connect with people, to work as a columnist for the Stow Sentry and Record Courier, intermingling her own experiences with local events, color, and personalities in her “Around Stow” and “Speaking of Stow” columns, which ran for over a decade.
In 2011, the couple relocated from their beloved home in Stow to their retirement destination, Dirigo Pines in Orono, Maine, to be close to their daughter Nancy’s family in Maine.
Throughout her life, Helen took pride in many things, above all, her husband, children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren. She was also fiercely proud of her Swedish heritage, her South Dakota roots, and her beloved yellow 2003 Volkswagen Beetle. Helen greatly anticipated the Meier family's annual summer trek back to South Dakota, spending precious weeks visiting with family and friends, attending the Midsummer festival, and enjoying long conversations over coffee.
She was predeceased by her husband, Chuck, her four brothers: Robert, James, Herbert, and Richard Dahlman, and by her granddaughter, Rachel.
Helen is survived by her three children: Steven Meier (Roberta) of Miller Beach, Indiana; Nancy Connor (Jonathan) of Old Town, Maine; and Douglas Meier (Wendy Wittmann) of Reno, Nevada. She is also survived by seven grandchildren -- Nicholas Meier (Sandra), Danielle Ross (Patrick), Stefan Meier (Taylor), Anne Connor, Mariel Brown (Ivan), Henry Meier, and Walter Meier – and by five great grandchildren: Jonnie, Russell, Simeon, Rachel, and Patrick, and by many nieces and nephews from both sides of her extensive family.
The family wishes to thank the staff at Dirigo Pines for their patient, loving care during Helen’s residence in the Meadowbrook neighborhood. We also wish to thank Beacon Hospice for their very caring team.
The family invites relatives and friends to visit from 1:00 - 2:00 p.m. Friday, October 28, 2022, at Brookings-Smith, 133 Center St., Bangor where a funeral service will begin at 2:00 p.m. All are welcome to share conversation and refreshments at the Family Reception Center of Brookings-Smith, 163 Center St., Bangor immediately following the service.
Interment and a memorial service will be held at Bluff View Cemetery in Vermillion, South Dakota in the spring of 2023. Donations in Helen’s memory may be sent to the Crazy Horse Memorial https://donate.crazyhorsememorial.org/ or to the Disabled American Veterans https://www.dav.org/
Condolences to the family may be expressed at BrookingsSmith.com
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