More detail on this person: It is with profound sadness that I announce the passing of my dad, Thomas V. Meeks, on 28 March, 2023 with his wife of 56 years and his son at his side. He was born 25 March, 1943 in Nicholls, Georgia to Thomas M and Vera (Melton) Meeks. He graduated from Bartow High School (Fla.) in 1961. He joined the Army as a private and retired as a Major. During his military career, he rose through the ranks to become a CWO and was later commissioned. He attended flight school and eventually flew helicopters. He was one of early pilots to fly the "Cobra" in combat in Vietnam. He had two birds shot out from under him and survived with minimal injury. He married Ann (Flindt) in 1966 in Aalborg, Denmark. He was the first in his family to attend college. He earned a Bachelor's degree (Cum Laude) in Business Administration from the University of Albuquerque. He retired from active duty in 1981. During his military career, he was awarded numerous commendations including Purple Heart, Air Medal (with Valor), Distinguished Flying Cross and Bronze Star among others. Civil Service seemed to be his calling. He went back to work at Fort Lewis. He earned an MBA from the University of Puget Sound. He eventually became the Deputy Garrison Commander for the base. He retired from Civil Service in 2002 only to take another position at South Com in Miami where he became part of the SES (Civilian equivalent of a General Officer) community. Ann and Tom retired from there to Beverly Hills, Florida where they built their retirement dream home. They returned to Washington to be close to their grandchildren when their son started his practice in Kitsap County. Despite all that he accomplished in his career, he was a very humble man. He was quiet and soft-spoken but when he talked, you listened. 10 years ago, he was diagnosed with cardiac amyloidosis. He received a heart transplant on March 20, 2014 at the Mayo Clinic which saved his life and made national headlines. That heart gave him 9 years to watch his grandchildren grow up. That is what truly made him happy. He is preceded in death by his parents, brother Jimmy Meeks and son Michael Lee Meeks. He is survived by his wife Ann, son Dr. Thomas (Emily), grandchildren Stephen, Madison, Alexa, T.J., sisters Linda Meeks (Lakeland, FLA.), Debbie (David) Rogers ( Bartow, FLA.), and brother Narvin Meeks (Bartow, FLA.). He chose to be cremated and will be interned at Tahoma National Cemetery with full honors on June 16, 2023 at 1430. There will be a small service for family and close friends. He didn't want people to make a fuss over him. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to CUREMDS.org to help find a cure for MECP2 duplication syndrome. Posted online on May 03, 2023 Published in Kitsap Sun
Burial information: Tahoma National Cemetery
This information was last updated 05/09/2023
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Date posted on this site: 03/10/2024
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