Stephen Joseph Meissner ,Jr

The patriarch of our family passed into eternal life on January 17, 2019 at the age of 96. He was preceded in death by his parents, seven siblings, and grandson, Anthony "Tony" Meissner. He is survived by his wife of 72 years, Reidun, four sons, Stephen (Leah), Richard (Jeni), Dan (Mary Louise) and Timothy, 11 grandchildren, and 21 great-grandchildren.

Born on October 7, 1922, the seventh of eight children to Stephen and Magdalena Meissner, Steve grew up working in the Meissner Meat Market and Grocery, making deliveries and fetching cattle from the railroad stockyards. On his 18th birthday, he enlisted in the Army at Fort Missoula – the farthest he had ever been from his hometown. During his five-year stint, Steve was promoted to Tech Sergeant, serving in a variety of positions from reporting on aircraft maintenance and crash investigation to working on airport drafting projects and packing parachutes ("no one returned to complain"). While in England, he witnessed V-1 and V-2 attacks on London, and landed at Utah Beach two months after D-Day on his way to just-liberated Paris. Having come a long way from tiny Glendive, he was thoroughly entranced by the city and its inhabitants. He often recounted stories to children and grandchildren about the wonders of Paris and celebrating V-E Day, when "the city lights came back on."

Following V-J Day and his honorable discharge, Steve moved to Seattle, where he met Reidun Gundersen, a 22-year old Norwegian beauty from Queen Anne. Ri had just returned from San Francisco where she had worked as a civilian secretary for the army during the war. Married on July 20, 1946, they settled first in Ballard, then in Ridgecrest, and finally in Shoreline, where they lived for the next 64 years. They both were loving and supportive parents, working hard to provide their sons a stable and secure childhood that was rich in books, activities and adventures. Invariably, they would be in the audience for school or cub scout events and every sports game. They were also active in St. Luke's parish, with Ri serving hot lunches on Thursday and Steve dishing out meatballs on Spaghetti night.

After marriage, Steve returned to the grocery business, working for many years as the manager of Foodland in Mountlake Terrace, and then later for Prairie Market. He started his own grocery store in North City, where all four boys took part, from sweeping floors and peeling onions to stamping cans and bagging groceries. Steve had a genuine talent for painting large window signs, which were often done on the living room floor. He continued to work in the grocery field until he retired.

Steve was a man of quiet dignity, cherished by the Meissner family across generations for his thoughtfulness, kindness and good humor, all of which he kept when facing the challenges of aging. Everyone who knew him will miss his easy smile and warm, generous spirit; that twinkle in his eye and his ever-ready kind word. Steve modeled for his children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren what it meant to be a "good man" – what more can be said of a life well lived.

A Funeral Mass will be held on Wednesday March 27, 2019 at 11:00am at St Luke's Catholic Church, Shoreline, WA with a luncheon to follow in the Parrish Hall. The internment is at 2:00pm at Holyrood Cemetery, 205 NE 205th St, Seattle, WA.