Avid Singer, Dancer Dies at 89

Eleanor/Emily (Dietrich) Maehrlein, age 89, passed away Sunday at the home she shared with her daughter, Susan, and her family, in Freehold Township.

Born Sept. 2, 1923, in West Hoboken to William R. Dietrich Sr. and Emily Barbara Beck, she was raised in West New York. There she met and married, in 1945, the love of her life, her “Butch,” Charles H. Maehrlein. 

Eleanor was a woman of many talents. She loved to tap dance and was very proud of the dancing competition she won top prize in when she was eight. She loved to sing: at home; for more than 60 years at church; and in church-sponsored shows. An excellent student, she wasn’t able to pursue the college education she hoped for. Instead, she studied at secretarial school, and worked during WWII at Bendix, in Teterboro.

She enjoyed more than seven decades with her life-long friends – the “girls” of “Hi-Jinx.”

Following their marriage, she and Charles, a 2nd Lieutenant in the U.S. Army Air Corps, were stationed in various southern cities, meeting new people and learning a different lifestyle, which she often remembered fondly.

She wrote the words and music to “New Jersey is the State for Me,” for a competition and used it several times in various productions.

They raised their family in Palisades Park. Eleanor was an active member of The First Reformed Church of Guttenberg, and, later, Morsemere Community Church, in Ridgefield. In both churches she was a leader: singing her beautiful alto in the church choirs, teaching Sunday School, and at Morsemere was the long-time president of the church council.

She and Charles retired to Lanoka Harbor in 1986, where they joined and were active in the Forked River Presbyterian Church. They enjoyed too few years there before his death in 1992.  

In 2006, with an empty nest, she moved to Freehold Township. She was, at her death, a member of the Colts Neck Reformed Church.

Eleanor was predeceased by her parents and her older brother, William Jr.  She is survived by her family and friends who were the joy of her life, including her six children and their spouses: Marilyn and Peter Arp; Lauren Maehrlein and Thomas Dietrich; Susan and Michael Fox; Ruth and Andrew Coutant; Beth and David Shindler; Robert and Michele Maehrlein. She is also survived by her sixteen grandchildren: Amy, Peter, Kristine, Susan, Emily, Elizabeth, Jack, Matt, Michael, Joshua, Stephen, Allison, Adam, Zachary, Julia, and Katie; and fourteen great-grandchildren. 

Visitation will be held at the Clayton & McGirr Funeral Home 100 Elton-Adelphia Road (Route 524), Freehold Township on Tuesday, July 16 from 4 to 8 p.m. Relatives and friends may gather at the funeral home on Wednesday, July 17 at 10 a.m. for the procession to the Colts Neck Reformed Church, 72 Route 537, Colts Neck for her 11 a.m. funeral service. Interment to follow in Hoboken Cemetery in North Bergen. 

For those who desire, memorial contributions in memory of Eleanor may be made to either VNA of Central Jersey, Hospice Program, 176 Riverside Avenue, Red Bank, NJ 07701 or to the charity of your choice. 

For information, directions or condolence messages to the family, visit www.claytonfuneralhome.com.