BERRIEN SPRINGS – Mercedes Habenicht Dyer, 94, of Berrien Springs, passed away on Friday, September 30, 2011, at Lakeland Regional Medical Center, St. Joseph, Michigan.
She was born July 8, 1917, in Argentina, to Judson Power and Frederica Elisa Habenicht. At the age of four, her family returned from mission service and settled in Michigan.
After graduating from Emmanuel Missionary College (now Andrews University) with a French major, Mercedes worked at EMC, Shenandoah Valley Academy, and Cedar Lake Academy as a teacher and dean of women.
In 1947 she graduated from the University of Michigan with a master’s degree in education. She then went to River Platte College in Argentina (where her parents had taught and her grandfather had established a hospital) as dean of women. Returning to the United States five years later, she became dean of women and vice president for student affairs at Columbia Union College in Maryland.
On June 2, 1954, Mercedes married Fred Dyer. Having completed her doctoral degree from the University of Michigan in educational guidance and counseling, they moved to Berrien Springs in 1961 where she became a professor in the department of education at Andrews University. She later served as the chairperson of this department from 1978 to 1982.
After her retirement in 1982, she and Fred traveled extensively, teaching, giving conferences, and volunteering with Maranatha. She was an avid genealogist who has provided a wealth of information about her family. In the course of her life she authored several books and numerous articles, and was a dedicated Bible student who loved nothing more than to study with anyone who was interested.
She was preceded in death by her husband, Fred on November 18, 2003. She is survived by her stepsons, Bill and Dennis Dyer, 12 grandchildren, numerous cousins, nieces and nephews.
Mercedes will be remembered as a hard worker who loved God supremely and spent her life helping those around her.
Friends are invited to celebrate her life on Tuesday, October 4, from 6 – 8 p.m. at the Allred Funeral Home in Berrien Springs, and to leave online messages at www.allredfuneralhome.com. Funeral services will be held on Wednesday, October 5, at 2;30 p.m. at Pioneer Memorial Church on the campus of Andrews University. Burial will follow in Rosie Hill Cemetery.
In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the Mercedes Dyer Scholarship Fund at Andrews University, or to the It Is Written Television Ministry.
