Dustin Dewey Meineke

Dustin was born the second child in a family of 2 and attended Summit Elementary School in Aurora. The family moved to Las Vegas, Nevada where he attended Barbara & Hank Greenspun middle school and attended high school at the Las Vegas Academy of Performing Arts where performing music became his passion. The family returned to Aurora in 1999, where he completed his senior year of high school at Smoky Hill High School where he continued to grow as a musician looking forward to attending Metropolitan State College in Denver, Colorado. His initial focus at Metro State was on music and computers, but after a while he took a break from school to work at a medical billing company. After some time passed, he realized that he wanted to go back to school and left work to become a full time student working on a major in Electrical Engineering Technology, a minor in mathematics, and a minor in music.

Music, computers and video games were his passions and he started young, practicing his performance skills on the saxophone, using personal computers at home and school, and playing the latest video game called the Legend of Zelda. As the years passed, Dustin’s knowledge of computers allowed him to help people navigate the world of computers; many were his family members, but he helped others with special needs as well. He also played many musical instruments. He started in elementary school learning to play an alto and tenor recorder, learned to play a tenor saxophone at the middle school, and he taught himself to play the bassoon over a summer break. He performed many concerts at schools and churches beginning from the time he picked up his first musical instrument, the recorder, through his last performances at the King Center at Metropolitan State College with the Symphony Orchestra, the Wind Ensemble, and the Chamber Music Ensemble.

Dustin took many classes in Electrical Engineering Technology and enjoyed the challenge of learning the field of electrical engineering. The Electrical Engineering lab was one of his favorite classes where he got hands on instruction of the application of the electrical engineering concepts. He was a senior at Metropolitan State College and had two semesters to go before he would graduate to begin his career in electrical engineering. But without a doubt, even with his electrical engineering career unfolding, he would have found a way continue his participation in the music arts.

Dustin is preceded in death by his grandfathers; Robert Drury Meineke, Raymond Giebler, and his brother-in-law Michael Ireland. He leaves to mourn his passing his beloved parents Derald and Brenda; his grandmothers Marylin Meineke of Yuma, Colorado and Joan Giebler of Goodland, Kansas; his sister, April Ireland and her fiancé Dennis Ledbetter of Centennial, Colorado; his nieces, Alyson Ghaffari and Kaley Ireland; his aunts and uncles, Harold and Debby Meineke of Grand Junction, Craig and Amy Longmore of Gering, Nebraska, Sharon of La Junta, Colorado, Dwayne and Debbie Erkman of Grand Junction, Colorado, Jeff and Pam Todd of Wichita, Kansas, Bruce and Debbie Giebler of Colby, Kansas, Jerry and Denise Beard of Grand Junction, Colorado, and all their sons and daughters; and many other dear friends.

The musical instruments he left behind were an alto and tenor recorder, a tenor and soprano saxophone, a keyboard (piano) and his favorite instrument the bassoon. The beautiful sounds of his bassoon are now silent, but the memories of him and his performances will be held forever in the hearts and minds of his family, classmates and friends.

Arrangements under the direction of Olinger Hampden Mortuary & Cemetery, Denver, CO.