EDWARD G. MEYER

Palmer resident Edward Gustav Meyer, 83, died of multiple myeloma at his home on March 6, 2005.

A memorial service will be held at 4 p.m. March 30 at Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Wasilla, with Father Kaspar Mallazarapu and Father Stan Allie officiating.

Mr. Meyer was born in Dubuque, Iowa, on Aug. 14, 1921, where he graduated from high school and attended two years of college. He served in both the Army Air Corps and the U.S. Air Force from August 1942 until August 1962.

He served in India during World War II and flew many trips between India, Burma and China. He was a member of the elite "Hump Pilots Association." He also flew during the Korean Conflict and was awarded the Bronze Medal.

He became a resident of Alaska in 1970, living in Anchorage and Soldotna and later making Palmer his home. During his life, he also worked for Capital Airways and Japan Airlines, retiring in 1982.

He was a member of the Roman Catholic faith and attended Sacred Heart Church. He was also a member of the Elks Club. He enjoyed golf, gardening, fishing, reading and playing bridge and scrabble.

In July 2001, he earned the Kenai Eagle Award for demonstrating excellence and dedication to fish habitat protection along the Kenai River. May the preservation effort he exhibited here serve as a model for all.

"I would like to follow in the footsteps of my Grandpa," his 13-year-old grandson, Tyson, wrote in a school paper. "Ed and I were fishing buddies for almost 30 years. He introduced me to the Kenai River in 1976 and we fished it every summer. I feel honored to have known him," his friend, Phil Valarine, of Los Angeles, said. "Ed was a good and honorable man and I feel blessed we had so many peaceful and happy years together," his surviving spouse, Dinah Meyer, said.

He is survived by his wife, Dinah Meyer of Palmer; a son, daughter-in-law and granddaughters, Philip, Nancy, Lauren and Ashley Meyer, all of Charleston, S.C.; daughters, Karen Meyer of Steilacoom, Wash., and Melanie Meyer of Anchorage; brother, Joseph Meyer of Chesterfield, Mo.; stepdaughter, Margaret Green of Gig Harbor, Wash., and stepdaughters and husbands, Melissa and Philip Nagl of Wasilla, Wendy and Tom Mitchell of Anchorage and Stephanie and Robert Hartsock of Dutch Harbor. Nine step-grandchildren also survive him.

He was preceded in death by a stepdaughter, Alexis Sara Burke, in 1996; a sister, Bernice, in 2001 and a brother, Lee, in 1989.

In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to Hospice of Mat-Su, 3051 E. Palmer-Wasilla Hwy., Wasilla, AK 99654. Arrangements were with Valley Funeral Home & Crematory in Wasilla.