Obituary of Wally P Meyer

Wally P. Meyer, a 52-year resident of New Canaan, passed away peacefully at her home in Redding on May 8, 2023, surrounded by her three beloved daughters.  Mrs. Meyer was 97 years old. She was born on October 31,1925, in Rochester, NY, to the late Friedel and Albert Papenfus who were proud German immigrants and well known small-business owners with a popular and successful catering business for many decades. 

Although born in Rochester, Wally spent her childhood and adolescent years living and attending school in Kassel, Germany, where she resided with her maternal grandparents and extended German family from 1928-1940.  Returning to her parents in Rochester, she attended local middle and high schools, graduated from the Rochester Business Institute, and attended the University of Rochester.

Prior to her marriage, Wally worked for many years as a secretary to the late Dr. George Engel, a nationally recognized professor at the University of Rochester’s Department of Psychiatry, as well as a secretary and lab technician for the late Dr. Herbert Mermagen, in the Medical Physics Department of the then Atomic Energy Project at the University of Rochester.  Dr. Mermagen was a medical physicist involved in the early development of the atomic bomb at Los Alamos.  When not working, Wally spent her free time as an enthusiastic skier and member of the upstate New York Burby Hollow Ski Club where she met her husband Werner T. Meyer.  They were married in Rochester in 1959.  She and her late husband Werner would have celebrated their 50^th wedding anniversary in February of 2009, shortly after Werner passed away.

In the early years of their marriage, Wally and her husband lived overseas for numerous years in London, England and Brussels, Belgium, and traveled extensively all over the world.  Wally was always proud of, and actively maintained, her international connections throughout her personal life as well as through her husband’s international career when she was a partner in his international consulting practice.  Upon retirement, Wally continued to have a special interest in the global community with friends and family residing all over the world.

In her 52 years of residency in New Canaan, Wally as a highly devoted and active community volunteer.  She held many leadership positions and served on many fundraising committees that were both civically and educationally focused.  These included:  The New Canaan Public Schools system (from PTC to PFA to elementary school nurse), the United Way, Brownie and Girl Scout Troop Leader, The Walter Schalk School of Dance, the New Canaan chapter of Youth for Understanding and the American Field Service Student Exchange Programs.  Wally proudly served as a mentor and early host family for New Canaan’s ABC program in the 1970’s along with hosting numerous summer foreign exchange students.  Wally was very proud to be an early host family for what was nicknamed the “New Canaan Experiment,” which involved Norfolk State College students traveling to New Canaan to do their student teaching while also living with local host families in a hopeful effort to help teach tolerance and cross cultural barriers in the late 1960’s. 

Wally held leadership positions at Family and Children’s Agency of Greater Norwalk, the New Canaan Woman’s Republic Club, the New Canaan Woman’s Club, Encore, and became a certified member of the New Canaan Community Response Team (CERT).  She was a Eucharistic Minister and active volunteer and parishioner at St. Aloysius Church in New Canaan and in earlier years taught religious education to 7^th and 8^th grade students as part of the Confirmation Program.  Wally was a 25-year member of the New Canaan Field Club.  Her favorite organization was the Garden Center of New Canaan where she was a devoted board member and contributed many years of hard work; she had always hoped to acquire the allusive green thumb, but instead gained the riches of lasting friendship and enormous satisfaction of enjoying and appreciating other people’s beautiful gardening floral arranging talents.  Wally was also an accomplished homemaker and hostess in New Canaan, known for her culinary skills and New Year’s Eve celebrations.

Wally enjoyed the theater, reading and was always challenged by a good game of Scrabble or The New York Times Crossword puzzles, and lately Bridge.  Both inside and outside of her home, she was known for her energy, her enthusiasm, her intelligence, her humor and in the later few years of her marriage as an incredibly dedicated and compassionate care giver to her late husband who had a lengthy battle with cancer.

Above all else, Wally was an extremely proud and devoted mother to her three daughters and actively involved in every single aspect of their lives.  Whether it was timing a swim meet or carpooling for Walter Schalk, horseback riding lessons or tennis programs and a myriad of other activities, helping with book reports and English papers, volunteering backstage at Al and Lillian Mathews’ Drama Program at the YMCA, or marching with a Girl Scout Troop in the Memorial Day Parade, Wally was always involved and usually leading the way!  Wally was equally proud and devoted to her five grandsons who were the love of her life and a particular delight to her after raising her own three daughters.

Wally is survived by her much-loved daughters Gretchen Meyer Russell and son-in-law Stephen Russell of New Canaan, Nicole I. Meyer and son-in-law Michael Bolen of Philadelphia, and Claudia Meyer Newton and son-in-law Robert Newton of Montreal, Canada.  She is also survived by her especially adored grandsons Graham and Oliver Russell of New York City and New Canaan, and Jack, Charlie and Alex Newton of New York City.

A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at St. Aloysius Church in New Canaan on Saturday, May 13 at 11:30 am.  The family will receive visitors at 11:00 am in the Narthex of St. Aloysius, prior to the Funeral Mass on Saturday.  A private interment will take place next to her husband Werner Meyer at Lakeview Cemetery in New Canaan. 

To watch the Mass live please visit https://boxcast.tv/view/memorial-mass-for-wally-meyer-m7g9dtfrt7j13gplbdpi

In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to her special interest The New Canaan Beautification League (NCBL) at P.O. Box 4 New Canaan, CT  06840, or online at newcanaanbeautificationleague.org, “donate now.”