Erika Maurer

Erika Elfriede Schmitz Maurer, 76, of Zion, IL, died on Saturday, February 3, 2007, at Vista Medical Center East in Waukegan. Erika was born November 27, 1929, in Kobe, Japan, and grew up in Osaka. She and her parents were among the estimated 1600 long term German residents in Japan at the beginning of World War II; her parents, Emma and Paul Schmitz, had arrived in 1905. In 1948, she and her parents moved to Stuttgart, Germany. She finished high school in Stuttgart and completed two years at Ruprecht-Karl University in Heidelberg, transferring to Northwestern University in 1950. At Northwestern she met her future husband, Harald Maurer (1930-1995), who had transferred there from the University of Oslo. In June 1952, she graduated from Northwestern with a B.S. and married Harald three days later. In 1955 she received her M.A. and soon began her teaching career. For most of her career she taught German language and literature at Roosevelt University in Chicago. At the time of her death, she was a resident of Arbor View Nursing Home in Zion. Survivors include a son, Johan Maurer (Judy) of Portland, Oregon; and daughter, Renee Fanning (Kevin) of Brookline Station, Missouri. Erika is also survived by four grandchildren. She was preceded in death by her husband Harald in 1995; and daughter, Ellen in 1970. A Memorial Service will be held on Saturday, March 3, 2007, at 2:00 p.m. at the Arbor View Nursing Home, 1805 27th St, Zion, with her son, Johan Maurer of Portland, Oregon, officiating.