Gary Charles Meehan

Gary Charles Meehan, like Nephi of old, was born of godly parents on May 23, 1938, in Lewistown, Montana. He was the son of Robert Carroll Meehan and Dolores Daily Meehan. He lived on a small farm south of Lewistown throughout his youth and graduated from Fergus County High School in 1956. He was a sickly child in his early years having his appendix removed when he was 4 and a year later his tonsils. At the age of 8 he developed Rheumatic Fever and had his physical activity severely restricted for a year. He remembered he was the fastest boy in his class at the time but when he was able to resume running a year later, that was no longer the case.
He was forever grateful for growing up in Montana. As a youth he learned to hunt, fish, live outdoors, do farm chores, ski, sled, ice skate, explore, swim, hike and bike. Things that living in better climates or in populated areas would have never presented themselves or been allowed. And, regardless the weather, life simply went on in Montana. The only thing that stopped you was a blizzard and being snowed-in; cold did not. Complaining simply did not help either. That's just the way it was. He never fully realized the reality of cold temperatures and related bad weather of Montana until returning there to live as an adult while stationed in the military.
His boyhood ambition was to be a big league baseball player. Using string, he made a strike zone on the side of a shed and practiced pitching, with a tennis ball, for hours on end. The practice paid off when he was allowed by the Doctor to play Little League Baseball. He became the star pitcher for the local American Legion team but threw his arm out one Sunday afternoon. He pitched a 4 hit, complete game shut-out following a 2 week recovery from a base running concussion. He had not thrown at all during those 2 weeks and the arm just wasn't ready. Remember, in those days there was no pitch count and games were 9 innings. He was good enough to have been scouted by Major League Baseball. Their interest waned when they discovered he was 17 instead of maybe 14 as his physical size might have indicated. When he graduated from high school he was 5' 5" and weighed 115 lbs. He grew 2" in height during his freshman year in college.
His Mother was bedridden throughout most of his childhood. As a result he developed many of the skills necessary to maintain a household. He learned to cook, sew, clean, wash and iron clothes and make beds etc. The ironing of his own clothes was a habit he practiced throughout his life. That way his clothes were always pressed to his satisfaction. He always said he was grateful for these skills as it meant he would never starve and could live anywhere at any time.
After HS graduation, Gary attended Dartmouth College and then Montana State College, now University, graduating in 1960 with a BS degree and receiving a commission as a 2nd Lieutenant in the USAF. Those were also the days of the draft and by staying with ROTC throughout college he was able to hold a deferment from military active duty. He wanted to fly but bad eye sight kept him grounded. He was also quite proud of the fact that besides some scholarships, he worked his way totally through college. He felt lucky for growing up in the 40s' and 50s' as this was something that you probably could not do today
In 1962 he reported for Air Force active duty at the University of Washington and received another BS degree, this time in Meteorology and Climatology. He then became a weather officer and was assigned to bases in

Georgia, Texas and Korea. He loved his weather duty as each day was totally different and where 2+2 usually did not equal 4. His duty in Texas was when Lyndon Johnson was President. Several times he had the responsibility to provide the weather briefing to the pilots of the Air Force One; a great experience. Bowing to the "needs" of the Air Force, he was selected as an instructor at Officer Training School (OTS) in 1966 and then to missile duty in 1970 at Malmstrom AFB in Montana. He missed his weather duty and was not happy with either of these assignments, especially the missile assignment. However he was going home to Montana, realizing the grandparents and grandkids would have a wonderful opportunity to get to know each other. In later years he would look back and acknowledge the Montana Missile assignment was probably his best, both personally and professionally, in his 20 years of active duty.
He thought it ironic to drive through his hometown, Lewistown, on the way to missile alert duty as well as being able to stop at the home of his Mother who lived on a farm near there. In 1971 he was sent on temporary duty to Vandenberg AFB in CA where he was the primary missile crew commander in launching a Minuteman II missile down the test range. During the last 2 and one half years, of the 4 year assignment at Malmstrom, he was the Wing Senior Missile Instructor Commander which he considered the most important as well as satisfying and rewarding responsibility of his military career. In this capacity he supervised 18 instructor crews and was responsible for the readiness training of slightly more than 130 missile combat crews. He subsequently served in California and North Dakota as a Squadron Commander and Missile Staff Officer. He retired as a Lieutenant Colonel from the United States Air Force in June 1981 after 20 years active duty.
He started a second life, as he termed it, with the Boy Scouts of America in 1982. He became a District Executive with Mission Council in Santa Barbara and then the Camping Director with the California Inland Empire Council in Redlands. He was with the Scouts in Redlands until his 2nd retirement, a "Golden Handshake" in 1997.
He loved sports and followed them throughout his life. He was a CIF football, basketball, baseball and softball official for 8 years in the Vandenberg AFB area. After retiring in 1997, he played a lot of golf which had replaced baseball as his passion. When he had to quit golfing because of a bad back, his handicap was a 2. Not a long hitter but an accurate one and a good putter. He has continued to reside in Redlands since retirement. He joined the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints on February 1, 1998.
He is the father of three girls of whom he is most proud. He had always wanted a boy to maintain the family name, but wouldn't have traded his girls, his guys as he referred to them, for anything. He also teased them a lot. He was a very patriotic man and held strong conservative views. He deeply loved his family. His hope is that people will remember him as a "nice guy", "a good guy" and a Christian person as dependable and straightforward as the sun.
He is survived by wife Linda, 3 children, 2 stepchildren, 5 grandchildren and 7 step-grandchildren and 3 great grandchildren.

Viewing will be at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, Pioneer, Friday December 22, 2017 from 9:00am-10:00am. Services will begin at the church at 10:00am.
After the service, the family will be greeting friends at the church, with lunch, until 12:30 when they will depart for the cemetery.
A committal service, including military honors, will be at Riverside National Cemetery at 1:45pm following the luncheon.