Roberta Meyer

Roberta T Meyer (Birdie), age 88 of Litchfield, was called to be with the Lord on April 16, 2024, while residing at Harmony River in Hutchinson. A Mass of Christian Burial for Birdie will be held at the Church of St. Philip in Litchfield on Saturday, April 27, 2024 at 11:00AM with visitation 1 hour prior.  

She was born in Minneapolis. Sadly her mother passed away when she was just 4 years old. She said she could remember seeing the horse drawn carriage passing with her mother’s body, while playing in the hay loft with her cousins, and not realizing it was her Mother’s funeral procession. So Birdie and her three sisters moved to Richmond. There they were raised by their beloved Aunt Tra. Later in life Birdie said she felt guilty that Tra had to give up her teaching career to raise the four girls.

She was baptized, received First Holy Communion and was confirmed and married at Saint Peter & Paul Catholic church in Richmond. Catholic grade school was in Richmond, followed by high school at St Boniface in Cold Spring, graduating in 1953. This is where she met the love of her life, Jerome (Diz) Meyer. They were high school sweet hearts. On January 7th, she became engaged to Jerry. Just three weeks later he left for the service for two years. They wrote to each other every single day.

Birdie moved from the comfortable tiny town of Richmond to Minneapolis for her job. At first she lived with her sister Margie, brother in law Norb and her two nieces. After that she roomed with 6 Richmond girlfriends. She said they all got along well and they remained life long friends. Birdie was very easy to have as a friend. Sr Mary Josephine said they had been friends for 78 years. Every August the good pals would get together in Waconia to celebrate their life long friendship.

In 1958 Birdie & Jerry were married. Jerry attended the U of MN while Birdie worked as a key punch operator at Honeywell in Minneapolis. She had mentioned once that she felt she was just a pebble on a beach at Honeywell. She then worked for Farmers Home Mutual Insurance company in Minneapolis. She said that Rusty the owner made them all feel like family, which she preferred.

Birdie & Jerry purchased their first small house in Richfield, where they lived for a few years, before they left for Spring Valley for Jerry’s first teaching job. They made many friends over the next 7 years, including their life long friends, Don & Sandy Kerkhoff.

Christmas of 1960 brought their first wonderful present, with son Jeff being born. Five years later, daughter Lisa joined the family. In 1967, they moved to Litchfield for a new teaching opportunity and to be closer to their parents, so that their kids would grow up knowing their grandparents. The house they built in Crescent Park became their permanent home. A few years later son Jay arrived and five years later their family was complete with the arrival of son John.

Birdie cherished being a home maker. She cooked and baked and always had a home made treat waiting for Jerry to get home from teaching. They would enjoy a cup of coffee together and talk about their day, before having supper at 5:30 pm every night. The family would listen to WCCO during supper and then discuss the case being told on Point of Law. Were they innocent or were they guilty, and why?

Over the years the family enjoyed many camping trips, as it was a favorite thing to do. First it was in a homemade tent and later in a Starcraft pop up style camper. Notable trips were to Mount Rushmore, the grotto in West Bend Iowa, Yellowstone, Oshkosh for the EAA plane fly in, Atlantic City NJ and Disneyworld.

Later in life, Birdie & Jerry visited family in Mesa AZ and went on a Caribbean cruise. They also went on some road trips with Kerkhoff’s. Retirement was spent volunteering & preparing meals, as she still enjoyed cooking.

Birdie was often described as kind, sweet and caring. She said the best thing about her was her family. She once rescued a disabled neighbor from her burning home. She said it was scary, as the windows of the home blew out as they stepped off the deck.

Later in life, when her youngest child was of school age, she went to work for Augustana Home care, in Hospice, for nine years. She was very proud of being a home health aide and helping others. Her boss recognized this and they forged a strong friendship that lasted for many years.

Birdie’s faith was very important to her. She was an active member of St Philips Catholic church where she sang in the choir, helped with different committees and the prayer line, and was a member of the Daughter’s of Isabella and Catholic Women. She said the rosary daily and we could always find a dozen rosaries at any one time, in her pockets, under her pillow and in the washing machine, along with her missed Kleenex.

Birdie was devoted to her family and helping them out as she could. The grandkids recall her digging out the ice cream and making them malts. Apparently, these malts were better than any they had ever had before. She hosted many holiday meals and was always interested in serving her family and others. She was humble and kind and retained her sense of humor and wit until the end.

She was surrounded by family during the last days of her life and listened to and prayed with her friends. She was a devoted wife, mother and grandmother.

Birdie is survived by her children Jeff (Laurie) of Litchfield, Lisa (Mike) of Brooklyn Park, Jay (Tammy) of Elk River, John (Shannon) Maui HI; seven grandchildren Taylor, Matt, Andrew, Brady, Thomas, Sova, Etta; three great-grandchildren Hayden, Daniel, Capri.

She is also survived by sisters in law and brothers in law Rose, Mary Lou, Carol, Donald, Susie & Gene, Louie & Paula. Many nieces and nephews.

She was preceded in death by her parents, her husband Jerry and her sisters Arline, Dolores (Lorrie) & Margie.