February 21, 2020

Shirley Vogler Meister was a columnist for The Criterion

Criterion staff report

Shirley Mae Vogler MeisterRetired Criterion columnist Shirley Mae Vogler Meister died on Jan. 28 after a long struggle with Alzheimer’s disease. She was 83.

A Mass of Christian burial will be celebrated at Christ The King Church in Indianapolis at 10:30 a.m. on Feb. 22. A celebration of life will follow in the St. Joseph’s Room at Christ The King School.

Shirley was born in Belleville, Ill., to the late Lester and Irene (Huber) Vogler. She and her husband Paul were married for 61 years, and they have three grown daughters.

Shirley’s career in newspapers began as a proofreader at the Belleville Daily Advocate in Belleville. She was later the editor of the society page at the Belleville News-Democrat.

The family moved to Indianapolis in 1959, and several years afterward Shirley joined her daughters in college, graduating summa cum laude with a degree in English from Indiana University-Purdue University in Indianapolis in 1985.

Shirley was a freelance writer and became a renowned poet and columnist, and began writing her column “Faithful Lines” in The Criterion in 1997. She graced the newspaper’s Perspectives page for 15 years, retiring in 2012 because of health issues.

She is survived by her husband; three daughters, Diane and Lisa Meister and Donna Simmons; a sister, Beverly Thurman; a brother, Michael Vogler; and two grandsons.

Memorial contributions can be made to the Alzheimer’s Association at bit.ly/38pVlPL. †

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