Talk about climate changes! Edna (Royer ’47) and Merritt Bauer met on the beach in Waikiki, Hawaii, taught school in Alaska, and since 1961 have made their home in Santa Barbara, California. Originally from Rushmore, Minn., Edna attended Northwestern from 1945–47, taking classes in Christian education. By 1950 Edna found herself in Hawaii, initially drawn there to visit a pen pal. But she fell in love with the beauty and quiet of the tropical paradise—as yet unspoiled by tourism and high-rise resorts—and decided to stay and work in a bank. She also fell in love with a sailor. A friend from church introduced her to Merritt Bauer, who was stationed in Hawaii the U.S. Navy. They were married in Pearl Harbor Chapel in 1951. A couple years later the Bauers moved to Santa Barbara, Calif., where Merritt earned a teaching degree from Westmont College and Edna worked at the student store. In 1958 she earned a teaching degree from the University of California-Santa Barbara. Then they decided to “try something different,” Edna recalls, so from 1959–61 the Bauers lived in Anchorage, Alaska, where Merritt taught school. They returned to Santa Barbara where they settled in their teaching careers and raised two children, John and Marilyn. Edna, who went on to earn a master’s degree from the University of California-Berkley, taught at the elementary school level until 1979. She then refocused her career on real estate and today works for Century 21 specializing in residential real estate. In the meantime, Merritt’s teaching career spanned 32 years. He found time outside the classroom to hone his construction skills. Over the years he built three homes for his family. “The first, during our days at the University of California-Santa Barbara [1954–58], he constructed from planks that floated up on the beach from an old dismantled pier,” Edna recalls. The Bauers’ “retirement” now finds them operating an eight-acre lemon ranch with their daughter and son-in-law. The ranch keeps both families busy and literally rolling in lemons: year round pickings, 100 boxes a picking, each box holding 500 pounds! The Bauers have been steadfast supporters of both their alma maters. They attend the Northwestern alumni gatherings in California whenever possible. “We believe Christian education is the future of the world and the world needs it,” Edna says. “Northwestern was a very important part of my life, so it was natural to give something back to Northwestern.” Since 1988 the Edna and Merritt Bauer Endowed Scholarship has helped Northwestern education and ministry students finance their Christian college education. “We believe in giving above and beyond the tithe. That’s when the Lord really blesses and pours out the windows of Heaven,” she says. The Bauers like deferred charitable gift annuities as well. “When we get old, we’ll have income the rest of our lives, no matter how long we live. Then the money goes to Northwestern.” She adds another advantage of deferred annuities is a good income tax deduction. After celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary a few years ago Edna said, “Fifty years have gone by fast, so we’re glad we started these annuities many years ago.” If the type of gift mentioned in this story is of interest to you, please call Kirby Stoll, manager of Northwestern Foundation, at 800-692-4020.
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