Person:Prudence Wardwell (1)

Prudence Wardwell Mierke was a member of the first communion class at the Church of the Covenant in 1913. She was an active member of the church longer than anyone else. She served on many committees, including the governing Session. Mrs. Mierke, 94, died yesterday at her residence in the Judson Retirement Community. She was born in Cleveland in 1900, a descendant of Thomas Wardwell, a Puritan who came to America from England in 1633. Mrs. Mierke graduated from Laurel School when it was on Euclid Ave. at E. 101st St. She graduated in 1922 from Wells College, a women's school in Aurora, N.Y. She was a past president of the Cleveland Wells College Alumnae Association. She married Harvey O. Mierke, who was a practicing lawyer in Cleveland for 53 years until he died in 1969. Mrs. Mierke volunteered with Cleveland welfare agencies. She served on the operating boards of Children's Services, Child Guidance Center, the YWCA and the Ingersoll Home for Girls. She also volunteered for the Garden Valley Neighborhood House. In 1952 she received the first distinguished service award given by Children's Services. She was on the board of trustees of Warren Wilson College in Swannanoa, N.C., from 1970 to 1984 and was a trustee emerita thereafter. The staff dining room at the college was refurbished through her gift and was named for her. She was given the college's distinguished service award. Mrs. Mierke was a member of the Village Garden Club since 1932 and belonged to the Garden Center of Greater Cleveland, now Cleveland Botanical Garden, for many years. After her husband died, Mrs. Mierke traveled the world. She visited a half-dozen countries in Africa. England was a favored destination and she also visited other European countries. She went to off-the-beaten-track destinations such as Machu Picchu in Peru, the Pacific island of Bora Bora and the catacombs in Sicily. She went birdwatching in Trinidad and Tobago. She enjoyed fishing, boating, birdwatching, hiking and gardening. She spent 60 summers at her family's summer home on the north shore of Georgian Bay in Canada. Mrs. Mierke is survived by a son, Harvey O. Jr. of Shaker Heights; three grandchildren; and a great-grandchild. A memorial service will be at 3 p.m. tomorrow at the Church of the Covenant, Presbyterian U.S.A, 11205 Euclid Ave., Cleveland. Cleveland Plain Dealer April 21, 1995

1. ↑ Ohio Deaths, 1993-98 Ancestry.com.
2. ↑ Ohio Deaths, 1993-98 Ancestry.com.