VALPARAISO – Marguerite Beer Hoerr, 94, of Michigan City, passed away on Sunday, Sept. 19, 2021.
She was born on March 7, 1927, in Milford, to Theo and Naoma Speheger Beer. Marguerite attended the one-room elementary school at Miller’s School and graduated as valedictorian from Milford High School in 1944. Upon graduation, Marguerite worked as a teller at the Milford Bank. She married and moved to Peoria, Ill., in 1946, and then returned to Milford with her husband and growing family in 1957. Marguerite was a lifelong, avid reader and enjoyed writing poetry and doing crossword puzzles. She shared her love of words as a volunteer in the Laubach Literacy program, teaching English to Hispanic migrant workers and their family members.
She was entrusted by her community to serve two terms on the Wawasee Community School Corporation Board of Education, the first woman elected to the board.
Marguerite was a member of the Apostolic Christian Church and contributed her alto voice to choral and congregational singing, and her time and talent to church meals and charitable events. She worked for the USDA Soil and Water District in Warsaw for 24 years, providing administrative support for a comprehensive soil survey of Kosciusko County and other farming services. In retirement, she assisted at the Milford Public Library and the New Buffalo Township Library.
On April 14, 1946, at the Apostolic Christian Church in Milford, she married Robert John Hoerr, who survives, along with children: Rebecca (Richard, deceased) Pelath, of Michigan City; Robert (Lilliam) Hoerr, Duluth, Minn.; Frederic (Martha) Hoerr, Fort Valley, Va.; Douglas (Tracy) Hoerr, Chicago; and Jeffrey (Rocio) Hoerr, Chicago; a brother, Bernard Beer; and sisters: Rebecca Doll and Miriam Speicher. Marguerite had 13 grandchildren: Scott, Marc, Tony, August, John, Matthew, Theo, Allison, Becky, Robbie, Mariana, Malcolm and Amelia; and seven great-grandchildren: Israel, Isabella, Enzo, Leo, Nell, Lucy and Lennon, most of whom she taught to play Scrabble. Her grandchildren and many nieces and nephews treasured her quick wit, open heart and sage advice.
She was preceded in death by her parents; a sister, Mary Fiechter; and two brothers: Philip and Alan.
A visitation will be held Thursday, Sept. 23 from 9 to 11 a.m. (Central) at the Apostolic Christian Church, 105 IN-49, Valparaiso. Visitors are asked to observe masking and social distancing. The funeral service will follow at 11 a.m. with interment at the Lakeside Cemetery of Chikaming Township, Mich.
Moeller Funeral Home is entrusted with the arrangements.
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Donations may be made in Marguerite’s memory to the public libraries of Milford, Ind. (https://milford.lib.de.us/) and New Buffalo Township, Mich. (https://www.newbuffalotownshiplibrary.org/).
