Wally P. Meyer, a 52-year resident of New Canaan, passed away peacefully at her home in Redding on May 8, 2023, surrounded by her three beloved daughters. Mrs. Meyer was 97 years old. She was born on October 31,1925, in Rochester, NY, to the late Friedel and Albert Papenfus who were proud German immigrants and well known small-business owners with a popular and successful catering business for many decades.
Although born in Rochester, Wally spent her childhood and adolescent years living and attending school in Kassel, Germany, where she resided with her maternal grandparents and extended German family from 1928-1940. Returning to her parents in Rochester, she attended local middle and high schools, graduated from the Rochester Business Institute, and attended the University of Rochester. Prior to her marriage, Wally worked for many years as a secretary to the late Dr. George Engel, a nationally recognized professor at the University of Rochester’s Department of Psychiatry, as well as a secretary and lab technician for the late Dr. Herbert Mermagen, in the Medical Physics Department of the then Atomic Energy Project at the University of Rochester. Dr. Mermagen was a medical physicist involved in the early development of the atomic bomb at Los Alamos. When not working, Wally spent her free time as an enthusiastic skier and member of the upstate New York Burby Hollow Ski Club where she met her husband Werner T. Meyer. They were married in Rochester in 1959. She and her late husband Werner would have celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary in February of 2009, shortly after Werner passed away. In the early years of their marriage, Wally and her husband lived overseas for numerous years in London, England and Brussels, Belgium, and traveled extensively all over the world. Wally was always proud of, and actively maintained, her international connections throughout her personal life as well as through her husband’s international career when she was a partner in his international consulting practice. Upon retirement, Wally continued to have a special interest in the global community with friends and family residing all over the world.
