The Rev. Michael G. Mayer, 90

DOVER - The Rev. Michael G. Mayer of Dover died peacefully Thursday, Dec. 13, 2007, at State Street Assisted Living, Dover. He was 90.

He was born in Tuebingen, Germany, on June 25, 1917, son of Dr. William and Elizabeth (Wolff) Mayer.

His early education took place in Germany and England.

After his family fled Germany in the 1930s, he joined them in the United States, where he was drafted into the U.S. Army as an enemy alien. He served in the Coast Artillery in the continental United States and in the Aleutian campaign, becoming a naturalized citizen during his military service.

After his honorable discharge, he received his Bachelor of Science degree from Columbia University, and his Bachelor of Sacred Theology from the General Theological Seminary.

After ordination he stayed on at the General Theological Seminary as a fellow and tutor, while completing his Master of Sacred Theology with a thesis on pre-Islamic Christian liturgy in North Africa.

In 1958 he received a Fulbright Fellowship to study at the University of Edinburgh.

Returning to this country, he served as chaplain at St. Mary's Hospital for Children at Bayside, N.Y., and went on to serve at several churches in Manhattan before accepting a call as rector of Calvary Church, Fourth and Rodney streets, Wilmington, where he helped to establish an imaginative and helpful linkage between his parish and Christ Church, Greenville.

In 1987 he retired to Dover, where he was a faithful associate at Christ Church.

During his service at Calvary and in his retirement, he did important service for the church with major corrections for the Hymnal, 1982 and the English/German selections from the Book of Common Prayer, published for the Convocation of American Churches in Europe.

The Rev. Mayer is survived by his sister, Ulrica E. Mitcham of Gulfport, Miss.; his brother, John Christopher Mayer of Tamaqua, Pa.; his nieces, Muki W. Fairchild of Durham, N.C., Monica Wachstein-Schmid of Stuttgart, Germany, Julia Turansky of Cincinnati, Barbara Donnamario of Truro, Mass., and Melissa Mayer of Lehighten, Pa.; a nephew, Christopher Mayer of Andreas, Pa.; as well as his many friends in Dover.

A memorial Eucharist will be celebrated at 11 a.m. Jan. 12, at Christ Church, 501 S. State St., Dover.

Memorial donations may be sent to the Mayer Memorial Fund, Christ Church, P.O. Box 1374, Dover, DE 19901.

Local arrangements are by Torbert Funeral Chapel, Dover.

Letters of condolence may be sent and guestbook signed at www.torbertfuneral.com.