Death of Fred Meseraull

Fred Meseraull, 83, died Thursday, Sept. 30, 2021, at his home in Berrien Springs.

A memorial service will be at 11 a.m. Thursday, Oct. 14, with visitation an hour prior, at the Village Seventh-day Adventist Church in Berrien Springs. Donations in Fred’s memory may be made to Your Story Hour. Friends are invited to share memories and messages online at allredfuneralhome.com.

Fred was born in Owosso, Michigan, on Dec. 21, 1937, to Elva and Reo Meseraull. His family later included his sister Lois and brother Don. After attending Adelphian Academy, Fred went to Andrews University, graduating in 1961.

He then found employment with Your Story Hour, working in both Berrien Springs and Ohio, recording and producing the programs. Your Story Hour is a dramatized radio program, using professional actors, and is currently heard around the globe on several thousand radio stations and the internet.

In 1969 Fred was asked to join Faith For Today in the production of their television programs in New York. He worked both with film and audio tracks for these programs. When Faith For Today transferred to California, the family relocated there, where he refined his skills with both film and audio.

After four years working with Faith For Today, the family felt it best to move back to Michigan so their children, Jon and Sheri, could be raised there. He was again asked to join Your Story Hour as a producer for the program.

Within a few years, Your Story Hour voted to expand their programming to include a Spanish version. Fred traveled extensively in Central and South America, looking for talent for this new venture. His travels included Mexico, Honduras, Costa Rica, Panama, Colombia, Venezuela, Peru, Bolivia, Ecuador and Argentina. Although never completely fluent in Spanish, Fred learned enough to produce the programs in Spanish. Much later, as Your Story Hour explored the possibility of recording in Chinese, Fred’s travels took him to China and Hong Kong.

In the early 1990s, Your Story Hour decided to expand into producing stories in the Russian language. Fred traveled several times to Moscow to record professional Russian actors for the program. At that time the Russian government was asking for programs that taught good behavior to their citizens and were happy for the Your Story Hour programs. While still in college, Fred had become interested in learning the Russian language, and he was able to build upon his former acquaintance with the language to capably produce the stories for Russian Your Story Hour.

Fred’s production abilities were much appreciated, no matter the language in which he was working. His ability to use music and sound effects to bring the stories to life in English, Spanish and Russian was well-recognized, and station managers or personnel from the stations on which the stories were aired even sent unsolicited comments as to the excellence of Your Story Hour productions. Most importantly, however, children and families around the world have been and will continue to be blessed by Your Story Hour stories and the behind-the-scenes production expertise and artistry which Fred brought to the program. In 2015, Fred retired, but he continued to provide whatever assistance or counsel was asked of him during recording sessions or post-production activities.

Fred was preceded in death by his parents and his children, Jon Meseraull and Sheri Meseraull Reitmeister.

He is survived by his wife, Virginia Meseraull; stepchildren, Jennifer Jewell and Angela Jewell; grandchildren, MyKyna Meseraull and Haleigh Jewell; great-grandchildren, Emerson and Marceline Jewell; his sister, Lois Soper of College Place, Washington; his brother, Don Meseraull of Farmington, New Mexico; and four nieces and a nephew.