Marcia Maureen Carkeek
FEBRUARY 8, 1926 – DECEMBER 5, 2022
Maureen Carkeek passed away at the age of 96, on December 5, 2022 in Greencastle, Indiana where she had been an Adjunct Professor of Music and taught at DePauw for over 70 years. Maureen was born February 8, 1926 in Greensburg, Indiana and grew up in Wellington, Ohio. As a young child she started piano and theory lessons at the Oberlin College Conservatory. When graduating from high school she chose to do her college years at DePauw where her mother had graduated as a student of Van Denman Thompson.
It was here that she met her husband, Arthur Carkeek who returned home from WWII to study with Van Denman Thompson. They met at DePauw and married in 1947, and after graduating both entered the masters program at Union Theological Seminary in NYC in music. While in their second year in NYC they received a letter inviting them both to return to teach at DePauw University in 1950.
In 1958, she and her husband crossed the Atlantic on the S.S. United States ocean liner with their two children aged 2 and 4 on her husband's first Sabbatical. They were in Hamburg, Germany for 8 months and again in Hamburg in 1967 where their children attended school. They were the resident directors of DePauw programs in Freiburg, Germany in 1974 and 1988, and Budapest/Vienna in 1980. Her many trips to Europe included Switzerland in 1970, Italy in 1976 and Spain in 2006 as well traveling to France in 2011. Of all the places she traveled for the remainder of her life, Costa Rica and Alaska were among her favorites. She received a grant to write a document about Brahms in Hamburg that was accepted for publication, and wrote four short carols published by H. W. Gray.
In Greencastle, she taught organ and piano at DePauw. Also she taught hundreds of preparatory piano students right up to her death at age 96. She was the organist and choirmaster in the old St. Andrews church and later became organist in the present church. She was also director of the children's choir at Gobin Methodist church and assistant organist there for many years. Children in the choir participated in DePauw University productions.
As the years went on she became more involved in the teaching of children. She was proud to have a student who played a Bach Concerto for piano with the Indianapolis Symphony, at the Indianapolis Children's Museum and also after writing to Hillary Clinton about children performing at the White House was asked to recommend two students to perform for the White House Christmas celebration on the Horowitz piano.
She taught for over 70 years at DePauw and never retired from teaching.
She is survived by daughter Janet Carkeek (David Helm) of Omaha, Neb.; son David Carkeek (Kumiko Ogawa) of Saratoga, Calif.; and two grandchildren, James Helm of New York City and Amy Carkeek of Tokyo, Japan.
Memorial contributions may be sent to her church, St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church, 520 E. Seminary St., Greencastle, IN 46135.
Services will be held at a later date.
