Harry Robert Meister

Harry was born November 10, 1934, in Norfolk, NE, the son of Harry A. and Ellen (Ryan) Meister. The family moved to Omaha, where Harry would later graduate from Creighton Preparatory High School in 1952, and from Creighton University in 1956, with a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration. After commissioning and serving honorably on active duty in the United States Army at Fort Jackson, South Carolina, Meister returned to Omaha and earned a Juris Doctorate from Creighton University School of Law and was admitted to the Nebraska Bar in 1961. Harry was a trial attorney with firms in Kimball and Scottsbluff/Gering until his retirement in 2017.

As a young man, Harry was a multisport athlete. He was Marquette University’s light-heavyweight boxing champion in 1952. During an intrasquad scrimmage at Creighton, Meister hit what pitching legend Bob Gibson once described as “the longest home run hit off me in my life!” Active in the Kimball County Jaycees, Meister was instrumental in the development of recreation facilities, including the municipal golf course. He later refereed high school football and umpired American Legion Baseball for several years and was an active booster of the then Nebraska Western College Cougars. An avid Husker and Denver Broncos fan, Harry’s love of athletics never faded, and he was particularly proud to hold the record for over 2,200 Cardiac Maintenance Rehabilitation workouts at Regional West Medical Center following multiple bypass surgery in 2001.

In his later years he was frequently found at one establishment or another playing keno trying to replicate his 2013 first-in-the-county $50,000 win. Equally at ease with attorneys and farmers, doctors and plumbers, educators and waitstaff, Harry’s roaring laughter and boyish grin will long be remembered by all who knew him.

Remaining to cherish Harry’s memory are his wife, Bonnie (married November 13, 1982 at Northfield Church in Gering); his children, Michael & Michelle Meister of Scottsbluff, Matthew & Kim Meister of Kearney, Cindy & Fred Diaz of Euless, TX, Stephen Meister & Jodi Brooks of Great Falls, MT, Kendy Duyck of Denver, CO, Jean & Scott Anderson of Kearney, and daughter-in-law, Michelle Duyck (Quentin); his grandchildren, Adam, Candice, Jennie, Gabriel, Molly, Brittany, Rebecca, Harry, Ryan, Christopher, Abigail, Morgan, Sam, Camille, Maxine, Maggie, and Devin; great-grandchildren Emaleigh, Dalaynee, Carter, Landen, Cealey, Oliver, Louie, Tatum, Millie, Hattie, Hudson, and Izabel; and his beloved dogs, Bella and Peanut.

Preceding Harry in death are his stepson, Quentin Duyck, daughter-in-law, Dana Meister (Stephen), parents, Harry and Ellen Meister, his brothers, George and Paul, and brothers-in-law, Thurman, Telford, and Donald Herman.

A Celebration of Life will be held on Saturday, March 8th at Dugan Kramer Funeral Home in Scottsbluff. Military honors will be provided by members of VFW Post #1681. Memorial donations in Harry’s honor should be made to the Panhandle Humane Society.