Kenneth F. Meister

KENNETH F. MEISTER

Independence

Kenneth F. Meister, 90, of Independence, formerly of Tama, Iowa, died Friday afternoon, Oct. 4, 2019, in his home in Independence, Iowa.

Ken was born on Oct. 31, 1928, in Manchester, Iowa, the son of Carl H. and Mary Ann (Penny) Meister. He was raised in Independence where he graduated from St. John's Catholic Schools in 1949. He served in the Korean conflict with the U.S. Navy from Oct. 4, 1950, to his discharge on July 27, 1954. He returned to Independence, where he became employed with the Mental Health Institute. He married Barbara J. Stover in 1958 and the couple divorced in 1964, at which time he moved to Tama, Iowa, where he became employed as a lineman with the IBEW Local and worked throughout the Midwest servicing high lines. Ken returned to Independence, Iowa, in the early 1990s.

He was a member of St. John's Catholic Church, a lifetime member of the VFW and a past president of the Eagles in Tama, Iowa.

Ken is survived by four daughters, Dolores (Wayne) Hollenkamp, Mora, Minn., and Christina Wessels, Mary Meister and Kathy Meister, all of Independence, Iowa; 17 grandchildren; and many great-grandchildren.

He was preceded in death by his parents; a daughter, Judi Meister; two sisters, Mildred Callahan and Thelma Becker; and four brothers, Dale, Hubert, Don and Harold Meister.

A Mass of Christian Burial will be held at 10:30 a.m. Tuesday at St. Patrick's Catholic Church in Winthrop, Iowa, with the Rev. David Beckman officiating. Burial will be in St. Mary's Catholic Cemetery in Manchester, Iowa. Friends may call from 3 to 7 p.m. Monday at the Reiff Family Center in Independence, where a rosary will be recited at 3 p.m. and a parish vigil service at 6:30 p.m. followed by a military memorial service at 7 p.m. Monday.

To leave an online condolence, please go to www.reifffamilycenter.com under obituaries.