ALBION, Mich. – A service of remembrance will be held on Friday, October 22,  for Albion College music professor, emerita, Jacqueline Maag, who passed away October 18 at her home in Albion. She was 82.

Maag--known affectionately as "Jackie"--served on the College's music faculty for 38 years and was a longtime Albion resident. She joined the Albion music department in 1948, where she taught singing and voice. She retired in 1986 and continued to serve on the applied music faculty of the College for several years.

"Jacqueline Maag was one of the most dedicated and conscientious and talented teachers that I have ever had contact with," said Melvin S. Larimer, ’53,  Albion choir director from 1976 to 1996 and a former student of Maag’s. "The best class that I ever took in college on any level was Jackie Maag's music history class at Albion College. This includes classes I took at the University of Michigan and Michigan State. She was very caring and conscientious when it came to working with students."

Larimer, who served on the music faculty with Maag for more than a decade, recalled an incident from when his daughter Christy Larimer-Compson, '77, was student at Albion taking voice lessons from Maag in the mid-1970s. Larimer said that when his daughter had a serious sore throat, and Maag delivered chicken soup to her room to help her to get well.

"She was just one of those very, very special people whose students were more than just students; they were like her children," Larimer said. "For example, she took her students--at her expense--to wonderful concerts in Ann Arbor, Chicago, and Detroit to see performers that she felt would be particularly beneficial to them."

Maag was born February 27, 1922, in Omaha, Neb., to Jacob and Frieda (Huber) Maag. She received her bachelor's degree in music from Northwestern University in 1945 and her master's degree in music in 1948, also from Northwestern. Maag undertook additional study at the Konservatorium in  Zurich, Switzerland, the University of Colorado, and the University of Michigan. She was a student of Ria Ginster and Axel Schiotz.

Maag  was a member of a number of religious and social groups in Albion, including St. James’ Episcopal Church, where she served as a member of the Altar Guild, a lay reader, and a Eucharistic minister. She was an active member of Saint James’ Episcopal Church Women, of which she was president for three years.

A life member of the National Association of Teachers of Singing, Maag also was active with Delta Omicron, Pi Kappa Lambda, Alpha Xi Delta, and the E.L.T. Club. She was an avid gardener, and enjoyed  traveling and cooking.

Maag is survived by cousins Gritli Steiner, Elsy Svoboda, Trudy Svoboda, and Cili Ammann, all of Zurich, Switzerland.

"Jackie was one of those special teachers you just don't see much of any more," Larimer said. "She was more than just a teacher to me; she was a mentor as well. I will miss her tremendously, as will all who studied with her."


Funeral arrangements:

A service of remembrance will be held on Friday, October 22, at 1 p.m. in Goodrich Chapel on the Albion College campus. A Eucharistic Liturgy of Christian Burial will follow at 2 p.m. at Goodrich Chapel, with Father Edward Scully officiating.

A Requiem Eucharist and Committal Service will be held on Saturday, October 23, at 10 a.m. at St. James’ Episcopal Church, 119 W. Erie St., in Albion.

Memorials are suggested to St. James’ Episcopal Church. Funeral arrangements are being made by J. Kevin Tidd Funeral Home in Albion. For more information, call (517) 629-7050.

-30-

 Back to Campus News

.