Thomas Edward Meylor

Thomas E. Meylor Tom of Longmont, Colorado, passed away Monday, June 3. Born in Storm Lake, Iowa, on January 4, 1925, to Edward and Amanda (Berendes) Meylor, Tom was the oldest of five children. He spent his childhood on farms near Marcus, Iowa. After graduation from Holy Name High School (Marcus) in 1942, he worked on an area farm until he was drafted into the Army on February 26, 1944.He trained at Camp Roberts, California, in Infantry Intelligence and Reconnaissance. In July 1944, after a brief stop to visit family, he shipped out and arrived in Scotland in August 1944. From there he went to England and France, and by October he was on the way to Germany and the front lines.Tom was wounded twice and was awarded the Purple Heart, the Combat Infantryman Badge, and a Bronze Star. He was in Berlin in late 1945 where he stood guard duty at Lt. General Lucias Clay's residence. After his discharge in early 1946, he farmed, attended Loras College and graduated from Iowa State in 1951 with a B.S. degree in agronomy and soils.Tom worked several years in the fertilizer industry, and in 1964, he started his career with the USDA Farmer's Home Administration (FHA) which included eight memorable years on the Cheyenne River Indian Reservation South Dakota.Tom met his first wife, Eileen E. Herges, at Iowa State. On June 21, 1952, they were married at St. Peter Catholic Church in Sisseton, South Dakota. They had five children: Elizabeth Meylor, Minneapolis, Minnesota; Dominic Meylor MD, Boulder Colorado; Priscilla Nelson (Jon), Corvallis, Oregon; J Meylor, Alameda, California; and Susan Strawbridge (Steve), Longmont, Colorado. Eileen passed away July 23, 1975, after a long journey with cancer.Tom married Donice J. Johnson of Brookville, Kansas, on May 1, 1976, at Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Columbia, Missouri. Eileen and Donice had been close friends since their dietetic internship days in Cincinnati, Ohio.After postings in Garden City, Kansas, and Brighton, Colorado, Tom retired from the FHA in 1985 and moved to Salina, Kansas, where he was an active member of the Salina Catholic Diocesan Rural Life Committee, Disabled Veterans, and the Military Order of the Purple Heart.In retirement, Tom and Donice enjoyed trips through the countryside and travel to visit family. They spent five summers at Yellowstone National Park working as concession employees. They enjoyed the outdoors where they could bird watch and look at nature. Eventually, they came back to Colorado and the mountains they loved so much.Tom always had a book nearby. He never stopped reading. He was always curious about people, technology, and hobbies like woodworking, stained glass, watercolors, lapidary arts, and the world in general. He was a stock market wizard whose investment returns would be the envy of Wall Street.Tom is preceded in death by his parents; his first wife, Eileen; brother, Jerry Meylor of Marcus, Iowa; and sister, Bernadette Eagle of Massapequa, New York. He is survived by his wife, Donice; his children, Elizabeth Meylor of Minneapolis, Minnesota, Dominic Meylor MD of Boulder, Colorado, Priscilla (Jon) Nelson of Corvallis, Oregon, J Meylor of Alameda, California, and Susan and Steve Strawbridge of Longmont, Colorado; grandchildren, Sam, Katie, and Caleb Nelson, Martha and Sam Strawbridge, and Max Meylor; step-grandchildren, Sami and Ben Alemania; special friends, Shanta and Howard Wayne and children, Madison and Christopher of Florida; brothers, Stanley (Loretta) of Citrus Heights, California, and Daniel Meylor of Westminster, California.Visitation to be held Tuesday, June 11, 4-6 PM, with Rosary to follow, at Ahlberg Funeral Chapel, Longmont, Colorado. Mass to be held Wednesday, June 12, 10:30 AM at St. John the Baptist Catholic Church, Longmont, Colorado. Burial to be held Wednesday, June 12, 1:00 PM at Mountain View Cemetery, Longmont, Colorado.Memorial donations may be made to St. John's Catholic Church Food Bank or Sisters of St. Joseph of Kansas, Concordia, Kansas. Visit www.ahlbergfuneralchapel.com for full obituary and to share condolences.