Barbara Ann (Miller) Meeker  

	Barabra Ann Miller daughter of George Curtis Miller Jr. and Ruth Mae Barton

V S Arts of Indiana Board of Directors 2001 ... Barbara Meeker, is an educator and professional visual artist. She is professor emerita in architectural technology at Purdue University at Calumet and studied at DePauw University.

An active Indiana artist, she exhibits primarily in her state and Illinois, but she also has a national prominence. Her Lily was chosen as the National Easter Seal in 1993. Retired from teaching at Purdue University (Calumet), she is still actively involved in several associations of Midwestern and watercolor artists.

Steeple Gallery, artist, Barbara Meeker.

Brain Kallies filmed a documentary, c. 2003 “The Art of Steel,” which featured three Northwest Indiana artists whose art incorporated steel either as a subject matter or as a medium. Barbara Meeker was one of the artists. Kallies visited Meeker’s studio, the gallery was exhibited all of her industrial paintings which depicted various industrial landscapes which continue to sprinkle the Northwest Indiana landscape.

Barbara Meeker established the Barbara Miller Meeker Art Scholarship 2004-2005 for graduating seniors from Munster High School who plan to major in plan to major in visual arts or architecture. Which is under the management of the Legacy Foundation of Lake County Indiana.

Tuesday, September 5, 2006 The Times
Artists recognized for their work
Area artists garnered cash awards recently for their winning entries in Art Comp 2006 at the Chesterton Art Center...Munster artist Barbara Meeker received a Merit Award for her acrylic painting, "Floral."...

One of DePauw University's Community Leadership Award Recipients 2007 was Barbara Miller Meeker ’52

• Past member, Northern Indiana Arts Association
• Past treasurer, Kappa Kappa Kappa
• Member, Kappa Kappa Gamma
• Past member, Munster Public Art Committee
• Past treasurer, Illiana Artists





Late Region Artist and Educator Remembered for work and Passion JOSEPH S. PETE joseph. pete@nwi. com

The late Region artist and educator Barbara Meeker is remembered for her paintings and passion after attaining national recognition for her art. Meeker died earlier this year at the age of 93 years old.

The Peru native was recently the subject of a career retrospective exhibit at the South Shore Arts Gallery at the Center for Visual and Performing Arts in Munster and also had a major solo exhibition there back in 2000. Meeker graduated from DePauw University and then taught art in Hammond Public School.

She and her husband started B & B Design, which allowed her to paint and teach in her home while raising their family.

She joined the faculty at Purdue University Calumet, now Purdue University Northwest, in Hammond and taught in the construction technology department for 20 years. She was the only artist on staff at the time, teaching almost entirely male engineers.

“All I wanted to do was color and paint,” Meeker told The Times of Northwest Indiana a few years ago. “My family was very supportive and encouraging. I wanted to share my passion so I became a teacher.”

She helped bring public art to campus and created Purdue Northwest’s first university art gallery.

Meeker brought the Very Special Arts Program to Northwest Indiana, giving children with special needs access to the arts. She also served as an artisan for the Hospice of the Calumet Region, donating nearly a dozen paintings to the William J. Riley Memorial Residence.

Meeker’s art often reflected land-scapes she was familiar with. She grew up summering at Lake Maxinkuckee in Culver and often later depicted land- scapes there like the Academy Chapel, the railroad station and Culver Inn. She later often painted the Indiana Dunes, steel mills and other heavy industry along the Northwest Indiana lakeshore and other Northwest Indiana landscapes.

She studied all over the world with watercolor artists and won national awards and accolades. Her painting ex“Lily” was selected in 1993 as the National Easter Seal.

A lifetime member of South Shore someArts, she sold her artwork and jewelry at the gift shop at the Center for Visual and Performing Arts. She remained. continued to education, sponsoring an annual scholarship for high school students.

“Meeker began exhibiting in the South Shore Arts Salon Show when it was still held at Minas Department Store in downtown Hammond, winning numerous awards over the years,” former South Shore Arts Executive Director John Cain wrote in a column for The Times a few years ago. “Meeker says that she isn’t a realist but more of an abstract painter of the landscapes of industry and dunes for which she is best known.”

Meeker was a Munster resident who continued to mentor young artists after retiring.

“We all have creativity,” Meeker told "We are surrounded by so much inspiration and sometimes we forget to appreciate its beauty in the purest form. Art helps us to capture it.”

She got into jewelry-making later in life and sold jewelry pieces and paintings Heart to Heart Gift Gallery and Home Accents in Munster.

“Barbara is such a wonderful inspiration to our community and especially Hospice of the Calumet Area,” fellow Hospice of Calumet Region artisan Lydia Dershewitz told The Times a few years ago. “Her work is absolutely ex quiste and she has a way of taking her love for flowers and nature and translate it onto canvas. Years ago, someone told me that i needed to get her to be part of our artisan group and I am grateful it happened." The Times Hammond, Indiana April 22, 2024




Barbara Ann Miller Meeker BIRTH 31 Dec 1930 Peru, Miami County, Indiana DEATH 7 Feb 2024 Munster, Indiana BURIAL Chapel Lawn Memorial Gardens Schererville, Lake County, Indiana



Barbara Ann Meeker (nee Miller) was born in 1930 in Peru, IN. She received her Bachelor of Arts from DePauw University in 1952. She then taught art in Hammond Public Schools until 1957.

In 1958, she and her husband Bill founded B & B Design so she could continue her love of art by teaching and painting while raising her young family.

She joined the Purdue faculty on the Calumet campus in 1966, where she taught in the Construction Technology Department for 20 years.

She brought the Very Special Arts Program to the Northwest Indiana, which involved giving children with special needs access to the arts through adaptive materials, tools, and processes. Barbara's artwork reflects the things she loved and the landscapes that surrounded her. She enjoyed traveling to study with various watercolor artists. She later developed her skills in abstract realism.

Her painting "Lily" was chosen as the National Easter Seal in 1993. She was the recipient of many other honors and accolades over the course of her career.

She found ways to use her art to benefit her surrounding community, sponsoring an annual scholarship for high school students, donating proceeds from her sales to Hospice Artisans and many other charity involvements. She developed a love of jewelry making and displayed and sold her artwork and jewelry at the Center for Performing Arts with her final career retrospective taking place there in 2020.

She was a lifetime member of South Shore Arts, a member of the Woodmar Methodist Church Choir, Tri-Kappa, Maxinkuckee Yacht Club, Antiquarian Society, and numerous other art organizations.

She was preceded in death by William F Meeker.

She is survived by her son, Steve (Dee) Meeker, their children: Steve (Carly) and Adam (Kalene) Meeker;son, David (Connie), their children: Alyssa (Mark) Burkhart, Katrina (Brian) Kawczynski and Jennifer Meeker; extended family: Jon (Lea) Funston, Terryn (Steve) Lindemann, Carly (Nathan) Calaway; and a multitude of great-grandchildren; very special friends: Ruthie Burns, Mario Garcia, and many others.

Memorial service will be held Friday March 1, 2024, at 10:30 a.m. at Woodmar Methodist Church in Hammond. Private burial at Chapel Lawn Memorial Gardens.

Memorial contributions may be made to Hospice Artisans/Hospice of the Calumet Area, Woodmar Methodist Church, or South Shore Arts Every Kid Program.

married 9 Aug 1952 Peru, Maimi, Indiana William Friedline Meeker Birth: 7 May 1929 Peru, Miami County, Indiana Death: 29 Mar 1994 Munster, Lake County, Indiana BURIAL Chapel Lawn Memorial Gardens Schererville, Lake County, Indiana son of George Erwin Meeker and Ferol Elizabeth Friedline

American real estate broker, owner. Chairman Ridge United Methodist Church, Munster, 1958-1964, board directors, 1960-1963. Member National Association Realtors, Northwest Indiana Board of Realtors, Calumet Board of Realtors (director, president), Masons, Shriners, Elks, Lions.

Development chemical engineer, General American Transportation Corporation, East Chicago, Indiana, 1952-1969; broker, Springer Real Estate, Highland, Indiana, 1969-1971; broker, Wilson & Lee Realty Inc., Munster, Indiana, 1971-1975; broker, owner, W. Meeker Realtor, Munster, Indiana, since 1975. Director Calumet Board of Realtors, Highland, 1973-1976.

William F. Meeker

william F. Meeker, 64, o Munster, Indiana, passed away atr his home, Tuesday, March 29, 1994.

He is survived by loving wife, Barnata of 42 years; two sone: David
George (Connie) Meeker of New Palastine, Indiana and Steve Geroge (Dee) Meeker of St. John, Indiana; five grandchildren": Steven, Samuel, Adam, Alexander, ALyssa, Katrina and Jennifer; many special friends and famlies and special grandchildren.

Memorial service will be held Saturday, April 2nd 1 p.m. at the Woodmar Methodist Church in Hammond with Rev. Cynthia Reynolds and Kevin Buckley officiating.

Burial will be held at Chspel Lawn Memorial Gardens in Schereville.

No visitation.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be mad to the Shriners Crippled Children's Hospital or your favorite charity in his memory.

Mr. Meerker was a 1950 graduate of Prudue University. He was a Chemical Engineer at GATZ for 19 years where hecompiled two editions of "Tank Car Manual"

He was a real estate broker and owner of Meeker Realtor.

He was a member of the Woodmar United Methodist Church, Indiana Habor Lodge %686 F. & A.M., Council and Commandrey, Knights of Templar, Yirk Rite, Scottish RIte, Northlake County Shrine CLun, Munster F.O.P. and B.P.O.E and a member of the Northwest Indiana Board of Realroea, also a member of the Indiana Farm ManagementAssociation and Culver Lions Club in CUlver, Indiana.

They had:

David "Dave" George Meeker married Connie Kelly daughter of Norman "Norm" and Marilyn Kelly.

Stephen George Meeker

Indiana, Death Certificates, 1899-2011 Name: William F Meeker
Gender: Male
Race: White
Age: 64
Marital status: Married
Birth Date: 7 May 1929
Birth Place: Peru, Indiana
Death Date: 29 Mar 1994
Death Place: Munster, Lake, Indiana, USA
Father: George E Meeker
Mother: Ferol Meeker
Spouse: Barbara A Meeker

Social Security Applications and Claims Index, 1936-2007 Name: William Friedline Meeker [William F Meeker]
Gender: Male
Race: White
Birth Date: 7 May 1929
Birth Place: Peru Miami, Indiana
Death Date: 29 Mar 1994
Father: Major G Meeker
Mother: Ferol E Friedline
Notes: Nov 1942: Name listed as WILLIAM FRIEDLINE MEEKER; 07 Apr 1994: Name listed as WILLIAM F MEEKER