Rodger L Meador

Rodger Lawrence Meador, 75, of Newton died on Tuesday, August 7, 2018, at Newton Healthcare Center.  A funeral service followed by a Masonic service will be held at 10:30 a.m., Tuesday, August 14, at the Wallace Family Funeral Home and Crematory. The family will greet friends from 5-7 p.m., Monday, August 13, at the funeral home. Memorials to the Paralyzed Veteran’s of America may be left at the funeral home.

Rodger, the son of Lawrence and Millie (DeHaai) Meador, was born on January 11, 1943 in Knoxville.  He grew up in Red Rock and attended Knoxville schools.  In his teens, Rodger moved to Newton and then at the age of 17 joined the United States Air Force.  In November of 1960, Rodger was united in marriage with Janice Endsley in Princeton, Missouri.  Over the course of Rodger’s 21-year career with the military, Rodger and Janice lived in many places throughout the United States and abroad.  During that time Rodger received many degrees from his technical training and was honored with many military honors, including a Bronze Star with “V” device, Combat Air Crew, and the Humanitarian and Good Conduct awards. From 1965-1966, Rodger served in Vietnam and received two medals, one from the Vietnam Government and one from the United States Government.  

After his retirement from the Air Force in 1980, Rodger began a career at Hy-Vee.  He began in Des Moines as a Deli Manager Trainee and then was the Deli Manager at the Newton store.  In 1984, Rodger and Janice moved to Waverly where Rodger was the Deli Supervisor over 36 stores in NE Iowa.  Following that, Rodger took the role as the Director of Delicatessens, which moved them to Chariton. During his time in that position, he began the Chinese Restaurant area within the Hy-Vee stores.  In 1997, Rodger retired from Hy-Vee and they moved to the Red Rock and Knoxville area before moving to Newton in 2014.  Rodger was a 33rdDegree Mason, a Shriner, and a member of the LDS Church.  He also enjoyed collecting toy tractors, fishing, hunting, and bowling.  He loved his animals, especially his dogs.  

Rodger is survived by his wife, Janice Meador of Newton; children, Jim (Tammi) Meador of Knoxville, Ronda Meador of Galena, Kansas, Scott (Penny) Meador of Knoxville, and Jason (Kim) Meador of Pleasantville; his 14 grandchildren; five great-grandchildren; and a brother and sister.  He was preceded in death by his father, Lawrence Meador and mother, Millie Sutphin.

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