Capt. (Ret) William A. Meeley, Jr., USN, 62, lifelong love of Joanne W. Meeley, died peacefully surrounded by family on October 26, 2012 after a six-year fight with melanoma. He is survived by his wife of 40 years, Joanne, and their daughters Tricia, Kate, and Elizabeth (Max Wilson), as well as his cherished Puddin', granddaughter Charlotte.
Bill lived life fully, setting an example grounded in great personal courage, wit, and integrity. He had a distinguished 25-year career as a Navy helicopter pilot, test pilot, and consummate leader. Bill deployed in support of mine warfare and logistic operations to England, the Suez Canal, and Italy. He was one of the first Navy pilots to qualify for helicopter aerial (in-flight) refueling operations and flew the first coast-to-coast, non-stop demonstration of an RH-53D helicopter using in-flight refueling. He flew helicopters in Antarctica in support of the National Science Foundation and Operation Deep Freeze and was honored to have a weather station named for him. Bill qualified as a Naval Test Pilot in 1983, serving multiple tours of duty at NAS Patuxent River, MD, the Center of Excellence for Navy and Marine Corps flight test programs and commanded VT-27, a Naval Aviation training squadron at NAS Corpus Christie, TX. Bill's passion for flying continued after his retirement from the Navy in his role as a flight test pilot with United Airlines for 15 years, retiring in September 2012.
Bill was predeceased by his father, William A. Meeley, Sr. and his sister, Ellen Ann (Lepper). He also is survived by his mother, Mary Ellen (McElwee) and his siblings, Mary (companion Greg Koch), Carolyn (Chuck Rose), Stephen (Stacye), John (Donna), Robert (Liz) and Brian (Sybil), and a multitude of nieces, nephews, in-laws, out-laws, cousins, and friends.
In keeping with Bill's Irish heritage, family and friends will gather at a pub to celebrate his life. A Mass of the Resurrection will be held at Our Lady of Mount Carmel Roman Catholic Church, Carmel, IN on Tuesday, October 30 at 11 a.m. Inurnment with full military honors will take place at Arlington National Cemetery on a future date. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the Melanoma Research Foundation, Washington, DC or www.melanoma.org.
Obituary and Photo:
Leppert Mortuary & Crematory Services
Indianapolis and Carmel Indiana
Bill lived life fully, setting an example grounded in great personal courage, wit, and integrity. He had a distinguished 25-year career as a Navy helicopter pilot, test pilot, and consummate leader. Bill deployed in support of mine warfare and logistic operations to England, the Suez Canal, and Italy. He was one of the first Navy pilots to qualify for helicopter aerial (in-flight) refueling operations and flew the first coast-to-coast, non-stop demonstration of an RH-53D helicopter using in-flight refueling. He flew helicopters in Antarctica in support of the National Science Foundation and Operation Deep Freeze and was honored to have a weather station named for him. Bill qualified as a Naval Test Pilot in 1983, serving multiple tours of duty at NAS Patuxent River, MD, the Center of Excellence for Navy and Marine Corps flight test programs and commanded VT-27, a Naval Aviation training squadron at NAS Corpus Christie, TX. Bill's passion for flying continued after his retirement from the Navy in his role as a flight test pilot with United Airlines for 15 years, retiring in September 2012.
Bill was predeceased by his father, William A. Meeley, Sr. and his sister, Ellen Ann (Lepper). He also is survived by his mother, Mary Ellen (McElwee) and his siblings, Mary (companion Greg Koch), Carolyn (Chuck Rose), Stephen (Stacye), John (Donna), Robert (Liz) and Brian (Sybil), and a multitude of nieces, nephews, in-laws, out-laws, cousins, and friends.
In keeping with Bill's Irish heritage, family and friends will gather at a pub to celebrate his life. A Mass of the Resurrection will be held at Our Lady of Mount Carmel Roman Catholic Church, Carmel, IN on Tuesday, October 30 at 11 a.m. Inurnment with full military honors will take place at Arlington National Cemetery on a future date. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the Melanoma Research Foundation, Washington, DC or www.melanoma.org.
Obituary and Photo:
Leppert Mortuary & Crematory Services
Indianapolis and Carmel Indiana
Capt. (Ret) William A. Meeley, Jr., USN, 62, lifelong love of Joanne W. Meeley, died peacefully surrounded by family on October 26, 2012 after a six-year fight with melanoma. He is survived by his wife of 40 years, Joanne, and their daughters Tricia, Kate, and Elizabeth (Max Wilson), as well as his cherished Puddin', granddaughter Charlotte.
Bill lived life fully, setting an example grounded in great personal courage, wit, and integrity. He had a distinguished 25-year career as a Navy helicopter pilot, test pilot, and consummate leader. Bill deployed in support of mine warfare and logistic operations to England, the Suez Canal, and Italy. He was one of the first Navy pilots to qualify for helicopter aerial (in-flight) refueling operations and flew the first coast-to-coast, non-stop demonstration of an RH-53D helicopter using in-flight refueling. He flew helicopters in Antarctica in support of the National Science Foundation and Operation Deep Freeze and was honored to have a weather station named for him. Bill qualified as a Naval Test Pilot in 1983, serving multiple tours of duty at NAS Patuxent River, MD, the Center of Excellence for Navy and Marine Corps flight test programs and commanded VT-27, a Naval Aviation training squadron at NAS Corpus Christie, TX. Bill's passion for flying continued after his retirement from the Navy in his role as a flight test pilot with United Airlines for 15 years, retiring in September 2012.
Bill was predeceased by his father, William A. Meeley, Sr. and his sister, Ellen Ann (Lepper). He also is survived by his mother, Mary Ellen (McElwee) and his siblings, Mary (companion Greg Koch), Carolyn (Chuck Rose), Stephen (Stacye), John (Donna), Robert (Liz) and Brian (Sybil), and a multitude of nieces, nephews, in-laws, out-laws, cousins, and friends.
In keeping with Bill's Irish heritage, family and friends will gather at a pub to celebrate his life. A Mass of the Resurrection will be held at Our Lady of Mount Carmel Roman Catholic Church, Carmel, IN on Tuesday, October 30 at 11 a.m. Inurnment with full military honors will take place at Arlington National Cemetery on a future date. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the Melanoma Research Foundation, Washington, DC or www.melanoma.org.
Obituary and Photo:
Leppert Mortuary & Crematory Services
Indianapolis and Carmel Indiana
Bill lived life fully, setting an example grounded in great personal courage, wit, and integrity. He had a distinguished 25-year career as a Navy helicopter pilot, test pilot, and consummate leader. Bill deployed in support of mine warfare and logistic operations to England, the Suez Canal, and Italy. He was one of the first Navy pilots to qualify for helicopter aerial (in-flight) refueling operations and flew the first coast-to-coast, non-stop demonstration of an RH-53D helicopter using in-flight refueling. He flew helicopters in Antarctica in support of the National Science Foundation and Operation Deep Freeze and was honored to have a weather station named for him. Bill qualified as a Naval Test Pilot in 1983, serving multiple tours of duty at NAS Patuxent River, MD, the Center of Excellence for Navy and Marine Corps flight test programs and commanded VT-27, a Naval Aviation training squadron at NAS Corpus Christie, TX. Bill's passion for flying continued after his retirement from the Navy in his role as a flight test pilot with United Airlines for 15 years, retiring in September 2012.
Bill was predeceased by his father, William A. Meeley, Sr. and his sister, Ellen Ann (Lepper). He also is survived by his mother, Mary Ellen (McElwee) and his siblings, Mary (companion Greg Koch), Carolyn (Chuck Rose), Stephen (Stacye), John (Donna), Robert (Liz) and Brian (Sybil), and a multitude of nieces, nephews, in-laws, out-laws, cousins, and friends.
In keeping with Bill's Irish heritage, family and friends will gather at a pub to celebrate his life. A Mass of the Resurrection will be held at Our Lady of Mount Carmel Roman Catholic Church, Carmel, IN on Tuesday, October 30 at 11 a.m. Inurnment with full military honors will take place at Arlington National Cemetery on a future date. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the Melanoma Research Foundation, Washington, DC or www.melanoma.org.
Obituary and Photo:
Leppert Mortuary & Crematory Services
Indianapolis and Carmel Indiana
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