Van Meter, Richard 'Rick'

Richard “Rick” Van Meter, 58, of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, died Monday, Jan. 14, 2013, at University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics, Iowa City. Services: 11 a.m. Friday, Jan. 18, at Concordia Lutheran Church, Cedar Rapids, by the Rev. Brad Brown. The family will greet friends from 5 to 8 p.m. Thursday at Murdoch-Linwood Funeral Home & Cremation Service, Cedar Rapids. Burial: Oak Lawn Cemetery, Auburn, Iowa.

Survivors include his wife of 40 years, Darlene; mother, Merlene Swanson of Cedar Rapids; son, Matthew (Nettie) Van Meter of Sioux City; grandchildren, Chloe and Jakob Dirks; four brothers, Terry (Nancy) Van Meter of Alton, Ill., Jeffery (Gerry) Van Meter of Marion, Scott (Katrina) Van Meter of Marengo and Kris (Dana) Swanson of Luverne, Minn., one sister, Karla (Gerald) Hankemeier of Mechanicsville; nieces, nephews, aunts and uncles; and “Buddy,” his cat.

Rick was preceded in death by his father, Richard Lee Van Meter; and stepfather, Richard Swanson.

Born May 6, 1954, in Lake City, Iowa, Rick was the son of Richard and Merlene (Ealy) Van Meter Swanson. He attended school in Eagle Grove. On May 18, 1972, he was united in marriage to Darlene Pfannkuch in Auburn, Iowa. He joined the U.S. Army where he served in the 82nd Airborne stationed at Fort Bragg, N.C. After his discharge, he moved to the Cedar Rapids area. Rick was a substance abuse counselor and then in 2001 went to work for the TSA at the Cedar Rapids airport.

Rick's greatest love was his family but also enjoyed riding his motorcycle and playing video games.

Please sign the online guest book for Rick at under obituaries.

Published in The Gazette Jan. 16, 2013.