Brue-Roeder, Evelyn (1918-2020) | University of Illinois Archives

Name: Brue-Roeder, Evelyn (1918-2020)

Historical Note: Evelyn Brue-Roeder (1918-2020) was born in Ottawa, Illinois. Her father was a farmer and her mother was a vocalist in her local church. As a child, she played piano, violin, ukulele accordion, guitar, and steel guitar. Interested in Hawaiian slide guitars, she began studying with Harry Stanley and eventually earned a teachers certificate from the Honolulu Conservatory of Music in Cleveland, OH. In 1940, she opened a guitar store, Evelyn Brue's Musicland, at 121 1/2 West Main Street in Ottawa. Encouraged by her husband, Roy Michelson, Evelyn gave lessons at the store. While teaching lessons, she studied music at DePaul University in Chicago. In 1969 she married guitarist George Roeder, who joined the school as a teacher. Evelyn died at age 101 in Ottawa, Illinois.

Sources:

https://www.namm.org/library/oral-history/evelyn-brue-roeder

https://www.gladfelter-roetker.com/obituaries/evelyn-roeder

Note Author: Nolan Vallier