Raymond Richard Meysenburg

He was born at home on a farm near Clarks, Nebraska, but spent most of his childhood on a farm near David City, Nebraska, which had been in the family for several generations. Richard’s great-grandfather, Peter Nicholas Meysenburg, emigrated with other families from Sandweiler, Luxembourg and founded their community’s Catholic church, Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary, which was the center of a close-knit Luxembourg-American farm community.

Richard grew up during the Great Depression. Times were hard on the farm, and he and his siblings were expected to do the work of an adult from a young age. This upbringing encouraged Richard’s natural mechanical aptitude, which was good training for his eventual career in engineering.

He graduated from Marietta High School in 1944, and after a couple years of farming he attended the University of Nebraska, where he graduated with a BS in Agricultural Engineering in 1951. Later that year he was drafted into the US Army and was stationed near Verdun, France in an engineering unit. He was discharged in August 1953 with the rank of Corporal.

Richard was hired as an engineer at John Deere in Waterloo, Iowa in November of 1953, and worked there until his retirement in 1982. During his career he helped develop the John Deere Power Shift Transmission as well as the Quad Range and Perma-Clutch tractors.

It was in Waterloo that Richard met Barbara Terry, and they married in 1958. After raising three children in Cedar Falls, they moved to Pella, and eventually to Grand Junction, Colorado.

Richard enjoyed many activities: gardening, fix-it jobs, singing in the church choir and other groups, camping, hiking, cycling and writing. In retirement, he volunteered for the local irrigation district and for RSVP where he did handyman projects that helped seniors stay safe in their homes.

Richard and Barbara completed numerous organized cycling events, including multiple RAGBRAI. Their longest trip was “The IOWA 150,” commemorating Iowa’s sesquicentennial with a 5,000-mile, 100-day bicycle ride from coast-to-coast in the summer of 1995.

After Barbara passed away in 2018, Richard moved to Westminster Village retirement community in Bloomington, Illinois, near his daughter Anne. He continued his active lifestyle, including exercise and singing in the Silver Chords men’s choir and his church choir.

Richard is survived by his daughters Beth, Anne (Forrest Harris), and Clare (Mark Miller); grandsons Eddie Harris, Tommy Harris, Ian Miller and Henry Miller; brothers Leo, James and Victor; and sister Julianne Hardy.

He was preceded in death by his wife Barbara, parents Anita (Koeller) and Leo Meysenburg, and siblings Thomas, Jerome, Arnold, and Rosemary Reiter.

The funeral mass will be September 20th at 2:00 p.m. at Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary Catholic church near Bellwood, NE, with burial in the cemetery there.

There is a visitation scheduled in Bloomington, IL.  Please contact family for details.