Carolynn Meyer

Carolynn "Petty" Meyer, age 85 of Fairbury, died on February 4, 2008 in Fairbury. She was born September 19, 1922 at Diller, Nebraska the daughter of Willis and Effie Diller Clark.

Survivors include her husband Richard of Fairbury, daughter Kristyn Shrader and husband Kurk of Elmwood, son Jeff Meyer and wife Beverly of Fairbury, grandchildren Sara Meyer, Mikaela Shrader, Ethan Meyer and Trent Shrader, sister-in-law Carlene Andrew of Auburn, nieces and nephews.

Services will be on Thursday, February 7, 2008 at 10:30 a.m. at the First Christian Church in Fairbury. Burial will be in the Fairbury Cemetery. Family will greet friends on Wednesday evening from 6:00 - 9:00 p.m. at Gerdes-Meyer Funeral Home in Fairbury.

Carolynn Rose Clark Meyer, better known to everyone as Petty, was born September 19, 1922 on a farm west of Diller located on the Otoe Indian Reservation, the daughter of Willis and Effie Diller Clark. She attended rural school through the 8th grade, then attended Diller High School graduating with the Class of 1940. At age 17, she began teaching country school in the Snyder School District in Gage County. She often commented that some of the boys she was teaching were older (and bigger) than she and could have easily run her out of the school. She taught here for two years, then began attending classes at the Fairbury Junior College to further her education. In 1944, she was contacted by Superintendent Walter Scott, who offer her a job teaching elementary school in Fairbury with a beginning salary of $50 per month. Petty accepted his offer and taught the East Ward 4th grade class for 12 years. Petty saw many of her former students over the years and could easily recall much about their performance in the classroom. Even though she left the classroom in 1956, she continued to teach those around her for the rest of her life.
In 1941, Petty met her future husband Richard at a YWCA outing at Camp Jefferson. He was the camp handyman and she was a counselor. During a lively game of catch, Petty asked Richard to throw a high one to her. She missed the catch and suffered a broken nose. In spite of this, Petty and Richard began dating. Petty’s mother Effie, made it very clear that Petty was not to enter Richard’s house even if his parents were home. Richard was called to serve in WW2 in June of 1942. While back on leave, he proposed to her on December 24, 1942. They both agreed to wait to marry until he retuned from the service. On Wednesday, June 12, 1946, they were united in marriage at the Congregational Church in Diller. They established their home in Fairbury where she resided until her death on Monday, February 4, 2008.
Petty was active in many community organizations including P.E.O., Delta Kappa Gamma, Eastern Star, Lioness Club, Little Theatre, The ‘23 Foundation and the Diller Alumni Committee. Her fond ties to the Diller and Steele City communities were very important to her throughout her life. She was a very faithful member of the Fairbury First Christian Church, having served on several committees and church groups and of course, teaching Sunday School. Her hobbies included gardening, knitting, sewing, reading and working on many projects with her husband. She always took great pride in her grandchildren’s activities and attended and supported as many of their events as she could.