Memorial service planned for retired MU historian

A memorial service will be in late May, at Columbia's Lenoir Woods Retirement Community, for Adolf E. Schroeder, 97 - a professor emeritus of German studies at the University of Missouri, who died March 29 in Columbia.

A historian and author, one of his books was "Hold Dear, As Always," the story of Jetta Bruns, whose husband was Jefferson City's mayor during the Civil War.

Schroeder was born Feb. 1, 1916, in Covington, Va., to parents who were recent German immigrants to the United States.

When he was 5, family circumstances required him to be placed with a foster family in Germany, and he didn't return to the United States until 1938.

Schroeder graduated in 1941 from the University of Illinois, then started work on a master's degree at Louisiana State University.

But World War II intervened, and he served in the U.S. Army from 1942-46.

After the war, he completed his master's degree work at LSU, in German literature, and he earned a doctorate from The Ohio State University, Columbus.

Schroeder later taught at Ohio State, Kent State University, University of Massachusetts, LSU, and in 1946-47, at the University of Missouri.

He returned to UMC in 1970 and served there until his retirement.

In Missouri, he became interested in German, French and other European settlements, and collected many photographs and oral histories relating to immigrant life in Missouri.

He largely was responsible for reestablishing the Missouri Folklore Society in the state in 1977, and became widely recognized for his contributions to the preservation of the state's cultural history and folklore.

Survivors include his wife of more than 70 years, Rebecca Boies Schroeder; son and daughter-in-law, Richard and Leah Schroeder, Washington, D.C.; grandson Michael Schroeder of Washington, D.C.; daughterin-law Betty Schroeder and grandson Luke Schroeder of Baton Rouge, La.

A second son, Christopher Schroeder, died in 2008.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the Lenoir Woods Benevolent Fund, the Rotary International Scholarship Fund or St. Andrews Lutheran Church.