Harper teacher helped build world languages dept.
In 1967, even before Harper College carved out its Palatine campus, a trio of foreign language professors began building the college's world languages department from a trailer.
John Davis taught Spanish, Irene Lavelle taught French and Henry Meier taught German. Together, they collaborated on everything from purchasing textbooks to planning curriculum, all from their temporary office space located outside Elk Grove High School, where they taught their first classes.
"We all came from different backgrounds, but we brought great enthusiasm to start something new," Lavelle says. "It developed into a great friendship and unity, and a will to build something great."
They worked together so closely that they earned the nickname of the "Three Musketeers" around campus. Now the trio is down to two. Mr. Meier died Sept. 15 after a long battle with cancer.
The former Palatine resident, and 25-year Harper professor, was 77. Mr. Meier was born in Luenen, Westphalia, where he grew up during World War II. He immigrated to the United States in 1951, and joined the "Black Hills Passion Play." It had been started in 1939 in Spearfish, S.D., by his uncle, Josef Meier, and was patterned after the one in their native Luenen, which dates to 1242, predating the production in Obergammerau.
He met his wife, Shirley, at the play's winter home, in Lake Wales, Fla., where she was a member of the cast. The couple married in 1960, and eventually made their way to the Northwest suburbs, where Mr. Meier accepted the Harper assignment.
Lavelle recalls that in Harper's first years, the average student age was 29. Consequently, their students taking foreign language enrolled out of interest, as much as a requirement.
Renate von Keudell, who worked as an adjunct German professor alongside Mr. Meier, before taking over his role in 1992 when he retired, remembers her mentor's love of the language and the culture, and how he brought both into his classroom.
"He was a native speaker, and when he walked into the classroom, you felt as though you were in Germany," von Keudell says. "He always brought anecdotes into his teaching, and his room was filled with travel posters and post cards."
When Mr. Meier retired in December 1992, college officials named a scholarship in his honor, to be awarded to students continuing to study the German language.
The department he helped establish now offers Spanish, German, French, Arabic and Japanese and drew 683 students to enroll this fall.
Mr. Meier is survived by his wife, daughters Catherine Meier Spader (Craig), of Bailey, Colo., and Theresa Meier Conley (Jeffrey), of Centennial, Colo., as well as three grandchildren. A memorial service takes place Sunday in Centennial, Colo.