LEO J. MEIER 1937 - 2003

CUNNINGHAM, MEIER, MELLOR, CHALKLEY, DIETZ, RANDLE, GUNDERSON, BICK, DRAGER, MCDANIEL, THEIS

Posted By: Mary Durr (email)
Date: 9/23/2003 at 14:30:57

Leo J. Meier

Telegraph Herald - Tuesday, August 10, 2003

Leo J. Meier, 66, of 1845 Cannon St., died at 3:45 p.m. Friday, Aug. 8, 2003, in the Bone Marrow Transplant Unit at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics, Iowa City, after a valiant struggle, with all his family present.

Services will be at 11 a.m. Tuesday at St. Raphael's Cathedral. Friends may call from 4 to 8 p.m. Monday at Hoffmann-Schneider Funeral Home, 1640 Main St., where there will be a wake service at 7;30 p.m., followed by a rosary. Friends also may call after 10 a.m. Tuesday at the church.

He was born on May 9, 1937, in Eden, Wis., son of Charles and Marie (Cunningham) Meier. He married his wife of 40 years, Sandra S. Mellor, on Oct. 12, 1963, at St. Raphael's Cathedral, Madison, Wis.

He attended St. Joseph's of Rensselaer, Ind., from 1955 to 1957, and obtained his bachelor of science degree from the university of Wisconsin-Madison, with a major in food technology in 1959. He went on to receive his law degree from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1962, and was a graduate of Northwestern Trust School, Evanston, Ill.

His devoted work experience began in 1962 as senatorial campaign manager for Gaylord Nelson, former governor of Wisconsin. He then worked at Continental Bank of Chicago until 1966, when he began his employment with American Trust & Savings Bank in Dubuque. He retired on June 1, 2002, as executive vice president and trust officer of American Trust and secretary of both American Trust & Savings Bank and Amtrust Board of Directors. In his retirement, he maintained the position of secretary of both the American Trust & Savings Bank and Amtrust Board of Directors and chairperson of the Trust and Investment Committee.

He was a member of St. Raphael's Cathedral and a former longtime member of St. Columbkille's Catholic Church.

He served many years on the Archdiocesan Pastoral marriage Counseling Service. He was a former chairperson of the Dubuque County Democratic Party, delegate to many national conventions and member of Dubuque County Democratic Central Committee for more than 35 years. He also was a member of Lions Club of Dubuque, where he was past president, and received The Gaelan Thomas Award. He was a current member and past president of the Dubuque County Bar Association, a current member of the Iowa State Bar Association and past member of the Illinois, Indiana and Wisconsin Bar Associations. He served 20 years with the Dubuque County Civil Service Commission and on many boards over the years, including Four mounds, IOCO, Hartig's and Miracle He was past president of the Iowa Trust Association. Additionally, he was a current member of the Tri-State Estate Planners and past member of the Fund Development Committee at Mercy Medical Center-Dubuque.

He taught business law at Loras College for several years. He also served in the Wisconsin Air National Guard.

Surviving are his wife, Sandy; four daughters, Patricia (Ben Chalkley) Meier, of Iowa City, Debra (Brian Dietz) Meier, of Birmingham, Mich., Tonya (Barry Randle) Meier, of Dallas, and Becka (Mike Gunderson) Meier, of Fort Worth, Texas; a son, Charles Milton Meier (friend, Jessica Weigel), of Eden Prairie, Minn.; six grandchildren, Samuel, Oliver and Lilia Chalkley and Andrew, Claire and Rachel Dietz; two brothers, Jack (Ruth) Meier and Robert Meier, both of Eden; and four sisters, Mary Bick, of Campbellsport, Wis., Rita (Harlan) Drager, of Kenosha, Wis., Monica (Tom) McDaniel, of West Bend, Wis., and Betty (Richard) Theis, of Littleton, Colo.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be given to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society and Four Mounds.