We are sad to report that Bernard Louis Derr, Ph.D., who worked for the OWU Library for more than 30 years, passed away unexpectedly on July 29, 2025. He was 83.
Bernard joined Ohio Wesleyan as its chief of circulation in 1987 and later as its librarian for rare books, artifacts, and manuscripts at Beeghly Library until he retired in 2018.
His family shares that Bernard was an avid photographer, gardener, bird watcher, chef, baker, woodworker, general handyman, genealogist, kite maker and flyer, and traveler. During his life, he lived in Norway, Senegal, Alaska, Minnesota, and Indiana, before settling in Delaware, Ohio.
He studied at the University of Strasbourg in France and the University of Oslo in Norway (where he met his wife of 58 years, Marianne Argetsinger), and earned master’s and doctoral degrees in Art History from the University of Minnesota and a master’s in Library Science from Kent State University.
In addition to Marianne, Bernard’s survivors include their sons, Ben Derr and John Derr ’00.
A celebration of Bernard’s life will be held from 3 to 5 p.m. Oct. 11 at the Andrews House in Delaware, 39 W. Winter St., Delaware.
The family suggests memorial contributions in his name to the Wilson Ornithological Society in support of the Jed Burtt Mentoring Grant or to Doctors Without Borders. Additional details and complete obituary information are available online.
Please join us in sharing our deepest sympathies with Bernard’s wife, sons, and all of his family members and friends.
Source: Office of Human Resources