Frederika Elizabeth Meerman, 81, of Dunkirk died Feb. 25, 2008, at Calvert Memorial Hospital in Prince Frederick.

She was born Nov. 28, 1926, in Arnhem, The Netherlands, to the late Hermanus and Elisabeth Plass. She was their only child. Her family lost everything during the Second World War when the German Army moved through Arnhem.

She met Christiaan Meerman and they married in 1946, in The Hague. They lived there until 1957, when, at the suggestion of family who had already emigrated, they moved to the Washington, D.C., area to provide better opportunities for their children. Their two daughters, Frederika Elizabeth and Elizabeth Johanna, were born in Holland, while their two sons, Christiaan Meerman and Johannes L.J., where born in the United States. When the family first moved to the area, she worked in the fur department of Montgomery Ward Department Store, but she spent the majority of her adult life as a homemaker, mother and loving grandmother.

She loved needlepoint, knitting and crocheting. She traveled extensively and made many trips back to The Netherlands to maintain life-long friendships and familial relationships.

She loved animals, especially her Jack Russell terrier, Caesar, a photo of whom she kept close to her heart in a special locket.

She was preceded in death by her parents; and her son, Johannes L.J. Meerman, who died in 1993.

She is survived by her husband, Christiaan Meerman; her daughters Frederika Elizabeth Dale and her husband Richard of Huntingtown, and Elizabeth Johanna Edwards and her husband Bernard of Millersville; her son, Christiaan Meerman Jr. and his wife Ginny of Edgewater; eight grandchildren; and one great-granddaughter, as well as numerous nieces and nephews.

A Mass of Christian Burial will be offered on Saturday, March 1, at 10 a.m. at Jesus the Good Shepherd Catholic Church, 1601 West Mount Harmony Road in Owings.

The officiating ministers will be the Rev. Francis T. Gignac and the Rev. Michael King will co-officiate.

Interment will be at Resurrection Cemetery in Clinton.

Funeral arrangements were provided by Rausch Funeral Home in Owings.