Miriam Wallenmeyer

Miriam Penzel Wallenmeyer, 101, formerly of Jackson, passed away Saturday, Jan. 10, 2015, at Huntsville Health and Rehabilitation in Huntsville, Alabama, where she was undergoing therapy for a broken leg.

The third of five children, she was born Aug. 11, 1913, to Linus and Mathilda Kies Penzel at their family home in Jackson. She and Kermit A. Wallenmeyer were married Oct. 8, 1938. They had been married 57 years when he passed away Nov. 6, 1995.

Miriam was a graduate of Jackson High School. She continued her education at Southeast Missouri State University in Cape Girardeau, graduating in 1935 with a bachelor of science degree in education. While at Southeast she participated in the music club, glee club and Thespian (a literary society).

After graduation, she taught music in New Madrid, Missouri, where she met her husband who was in the Civilian Conservation Corps. Later she taught music at Delta, Oak Ridge and Jackson, where she drove to Burfordville, Millersville, Gordonville, Fruitland and Pocahontas, as well as teaching at the elementary annex. She retired from teaching in 1976, but continued to give piano lessons in her home.

Miriam was an active member of First Presbyterian Church in Jackson, where she was an organist, sang in the choir, taught Sunday school and was a member of Esther Circle. She was also active in the former Jackson Community Chorus, Cane Creek Homemakers, AAUW and Retired Teachers Association, and served as a tour guide at the Oliver House.

Her love of history, plus her pride in the Jackson Community and her Kies-Penzel family heritage led to genealogical research, some with her brother, Carl. She was especially interested in documenting the houses and buildings that her father, Linus, and grandfather, Gustav Penzel, had built.

She loved to drive and remembered being the family driver, taking her mother and sisters up Pikes Peak on a trip West in the 1930s. Her love of travel extended from her childhood through her 90s. When she was 83 she was able to visit her ancestral hometown of Schorndorf, Germany, as well as other German and Austrian sites with family connections.

Miriam led an active life after moving to Huntsville in 1999 to be near her daughter. She participated in gardening at Presbyterian Apartments and continued her love of music by playing the piano for various functions while living at Country Cottage Assisted Living.

Loving survivors include a daughter, Janet (Frank) Szofran of Huntsville; a daughter-in-law, Janet Wallenmeyer of Dongola, Illinois; five grandchildren; and 10 great-grandchildren.

In addition to her husband and parents, she was preceded in death by a son, Stephen Wallenmeyer; and four siblings, Carl Penzel, Margaret Beaver, Elizabeth Shinaberry and Eloise Kroell.

Friends may call from 1 p.m. until service time Thursday at First Presbyterian Church in Jackson.

The funeral will be at 2 p.m. Thursday at the church, with the Rev. Sam Roethemeyer officiating. Burial will be in Russell Heights Cemetery.

Arrangements by McCombs Funeral Home and Cremation Center in Jackson.

Memorials may take the form of contributions to First Presbyterian Church in Jackson.

Online condolences may be sent to the family by visiting mccombsfuneralhome.com.