Donald M. 'Skip' Meisner 1936 - 2020

MCKENZIE, MEISNER, SEMRAD, TONDREAU

Posted By: Connie Swearingen (email)
Date: 12/6/2020 at 07:54:30

Sioux City Journal
29 November 2020

Donald M. 'Skip' Meisner

Sergeant Bluff

Donald M. "Skip" Meisner, 84, of Sergeant Bluff, passed away on Monday, Nov. 23, 2020, at a local hospital.

Due to Covid restrictions, a Private Memorial Service will be held 10:30 a.m. Monday at Trinity Lutheran Church in Sioux City, with the Rev. Scott Egbers officiating. The service will be live streamed on the church's Facebook page at Facebook.com/TrinitySiouxCity. Burial will follow at Dakota City Cemetery, with Military Honors offered by the United States Army Reserve. A Celebration of Skip's Life will be held at a later date. Online condolences may be offered at www.meyerbroschapels.com. Meyer Brothers Morningside Chapel is assisting the family.

Skip was born on March 28, 1936, in South Sioux City, Neb., to Alexander H. and Valeta (McKenzie) Meisner. His education included South Sioux City Schools, graduating in 1954. He received a Traffic Engineering Certificate from Northwestern University in 1961. Skip also graduated from Morningside College in 1977 and the University of South Dakota in 1979.

Skip married Laramie Semrad in 1958. They had two sons, Don Alan Meisner and Jerry Joel Meisner. The couple later divorced. Skip was drafted into the U.S. Army in 1958 where he was trained as a cryptographer in the U.S. Army Signal Corps and served in Colorado, Georgia, Karlsruhe and Heidelberg, Germany.

Skip married Kathryn Ann Tondreau in 1986. They both enjoyed fishing and time at their ranch in Knox County, Neb. Skip worked in the Traffic Engineering and Planning Departments of the City of Sioux City and was named Director of the Siouxland Interstate Metropolitan Planning Council (SIMPCO) in 1966. He served in that capacity until 1987 and from 1988 to 2001. Skip served as the Executive Director of Kentuckiana Regional Planning and Development District, Louisville, Ky., in 1987-1988. He returned as the SIMPCO Director in 1988.

He formed Meisner Management Services in 2001 and served as the Siouxland Lewis & Clark Committee Coordinator from 2002-2006. Skip served as an adjunct professor at Western Iowa Tech Community College. He was elected to three terms on the Board of Directors of the Sioux City Community School District ending his service in 1987. He was President of the Lutheran Hospital Association during the period of merger with the Methodist Hospital. He was a life member of St. Luke's Regional Medical Center Board of Directors.

Skip also served as the Chair of the Planning Committee of the Tri-State Graduate Center and its first President. He also served two terms on the Sioux City Public Library Board of Trustees, the President in 1997 and 1998, two terms of the Board of Directors of the Siouxland Community Foundation and Siouxland Chapter of the American Red Cross.

Skip was a member of the Missouri River Recovery Implementation Committee (MRRIC) and active in many Missouri River related projects and groups. He was a member of the International Countyity Manager Association. He helped create Siouxland Ethanol of Jackson, Neb. and served on the Board of Directors. Skip worked on many major area projects as the SIMPCO Director including the Sgt. Floyd Memorial Bridge, Siouxland Veteran's Memorial Bridge, Big Sioux River Bridge, Newcastle-Vermillion Bridge, and the Discovery Bridge at Yankton, S.D.

He served as Co-Chair of the Big Sioux River Flood Control Project. Skip was the long- time Chair of the Perry Creek Flood Control Coordinating Committee. He also coordinated the Pender (Nebraska) Flood Control Project, the Wakefield (Nebraska) Flood Control Project, and the flood control studies in Ponca, Neb. He served on several statewide projects involving transportation and intergovernmental relations. Skip was the former Chair of the Iowa Advisory Commission on Intergovernmental Affairs. He was currently serving on MRRIC, Rivercade, and the City of Sioux City Riverfront development committees.

Skip is survived by his loving wife, Kathryn; two sons, Don A. Meisner and wife, Roxanne and Jerry J. Meisner and wife, Lori; granddaughter, Rachel (Hunter) Hovde and their children Rowen and Mason, grandson, Alex Meisner, and granddaughter, Rebekah Meisner; brothers and sisters-in-law, Larry (Diane) Johnson, Rod Tondreau, Doug (Janet) Tondreau, Steve (Annette) Lake, and Brad (Janine) Stanton, and their families; nephew, Brian D. Uhl of North Sioux City, and his son Christopher; and many cousins located in Minnesota, Missouri, and Montana.

Skip was preceded in death by his parents; brothers, B. David "Jim" Meisner of Des Moines, and Jerry A. Meisner, and his wife, Marty, of South Sioux City; father-in-law and mother-in-law, Ray and Evelyn Tondreau; and sister-in-law, Corky Tondreau, all of Sioux City.

Memorials may be sent to Trinity Lutheran Church, 1122 Jackson Street, Sioux City, IA 51105