Robert Lee Meares III

June 16, 1918 – May 1, 2015

On Friday, May 1, 2015, Robert Lee Meares III of Washington, D.C., formerly of Maryland, returned to his creator at the age of 96.

Born June 16, 1918 in Greenville, South Carolina, he was the son of the late Robert Lee Meares Jr. and Norine Dickinson Meares, and descendant of more than three centuries of colonial and American ancestors.

Senior Master Sergeant Meares was especially proud of his service to the Nation, serving in the U.S. Army Air Forces during World War II, and later in the D.C. Air National Guard. During World War II, he deployed with the Third Photographic Group as part of the multi-national North African Photographic Reconnaissance Wing and Mediterranean Allied Photo Reconnaissance Wing, under the command of Col. Elliott Roosevelt, son of President Franklin D. Roosevelt. He performed aerial photographic reconnaissance and interpretation work at stations in Egypt, Tunisia, and Italy; this photoreconnaissance work played a key role in the Allied Invasion of Italy, and the Battle of Anzio. He was activated with the Air National Guard during the Korean conflict and Berlin Crisis, serving in Germany.

After World War II, he returned to his previous employer, working as a correctional officer at the U.S. Department of Justice, where he met Naida Lucille Lockamy, who he married in September 1946. He later worked as a buildings manager at the General Services Administration, managing some of the Nation’s most important Federal government facilities including the Pentagon, Department of Justice, Archives of the United States, and U.S. Bureau of the Census.

Mr. Meares pursued a diverse array of interests and hobbies, including piloting general aviation aircraft, marksmanship, archery, horseback riding, amateur photography, operating a darkroom in his home, woodworking, hunting and fishing, British sports cars, sailing, vegetable gardening, cooking and canning.

He is survived by his brother, Col. Edward Dickinson Meares (U.S. Army, ret.) of Bridgewater, Virginia; daughters, granddaughters, grandsons, and great-granddaughters: Carol Ann Meares (John Sargent), Mary Elizabeth Meares, Naida Lee Meares (Michael Kilby); Rachel Lee Wilson (Richard), Alexis Lee Sargent, Kelly Ann Kilby, Sean Michael Kilby, John F. Sargent, III., Paul Rodriguez Sargent, Anna Ullmann Sargent, Veronica Christine Wilson, and Nicole Ava Patterson. His wife, Naida, passed away in March 1999, after a valiant battle with cancer, throughout which Mr. Meares was devoted in his support.

Friends are invited to celebrate Mr. Meares’ life with his family on Sunday, May 17, 2015 between 4:00 p.m. and 6:00 p.m. at Joseph Gawler’s Sons funeral home located at 5130 Wisconsin Avenue, NW, Washington, DC. Funeral services will take place on Monday, May 18, 2015 at 10:15 a.m. at Cheltenham Veterans Cemetery, 11301 Crain Highway, Cheltenham, Md. In lieu of flowers, donation may be made to The Wounded Warrior Project.