Jerry Meissner

Jerome John Meissner, age 92, passed away peacefully at his home in Waukesha, Wisconsin on Friday, January 23, 2026. 

Jerry was born on June 4, 1933, in Racine, Wisconsin to the late Regina (Drydyk) Meissner and Simon Meissner.

Jerry shared 62 years of marriage with his wife, Carol (Murphy) Meissner. He frequently stated that marrying Carol was “the best thing that ever happened to me.” Together they built a life rooted in family, friendship, and service to their community.

Jerry is survived by Carol and their six children: Ann Sievers (Mark Sievers), Janet Meissner Pritchard (David Pritchard), Jerry Meissner, Jr. (Lynn Meissner), Dan Meissner (Stacey Meissner), Katie Oberfoell (Gary Oberfoell), and Brian Meissner. He is also survived by eleven grandchildren: Katie and Danny Sievers (Amber Sievers); Hazel, Ben, and George Pritchard; Maggie and Joe Meissner; Seth and Lauren Meissner; and Sara Hayes (Jon Hayes) and Brady Oberfoell, as well as two great grandchildren: Ruth Hayes and Theo Sievers. Jerry delighted in seeing his children and grandchildren grow up over the years. He was very proud of their strong character and achievements and remained confident they would build good lives. 

Jerry was preceded in death by his siblings Carl Meissner, Richard Meissner, Dorothy Johnson, Ray Meissner, and Simon Meissner. He is also survived by his siblings Arlene Lombardi and Jane Mutchler.

 Jerry often remarked that he had been fortunate to live his life during a time that he felt was one of the best periods in America, full of opportunity and progress. 

He graduated from St. Catherine’s High School in Racine. Following two years of service in the U.S. Army, Jerry earned his Bachelor’s degree in accounting from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and obtained his CPA shortly thereafter. He remained a proud Wisconsin Badger throughout his life, enjoying season tickets to Badger football games for over 35 years.

Following his graduation from college, Jerry joined the Wisconsin Natural Gas Company, where he remained for his entire career. He was initially hired into the company’s Bookkeeping Department, in Racine, before being promoted to District Manager in Oak Creek, where Carol and Jerry built their first home. They lived there for 10 years with their growing family. 

Jerry’s promotion to Division Manager, where he oversaw the whole of the company’s Western Division operations, prompted a move to Waukesha. Jerry died in the same Waukesha home he bought in 1975. Over 50 years in Waukesha, Jerry was involved in and took on leadership roles in several community organizations including the Rotary Club (serving a term as president), the local Chamber of Commerce, and the United Way, where he led Waukesha’s first million dollar campaign drive as Chairman. An accomplished golfer, Jerry was a member of Merrill Hills Country Club, where he proudly added two holes-in-one to his many golfing victories. For several decades, he was an active member of St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Waukesha where he contributed to the Family Singers as one of the infamous “hummers” and made many lifelong friends. 

Jerry enjoyed an active life. At age 50, he welcomed his sixth child, Brian, who helped keep him young in his later years. In addition to golfing, which was a primary passion well into his 80s, Jerry participated in a fast-pitch softball league in his 30s and bowling leagues into his 60s. He also enjoyed innumerable summer days at the cottage he purchased on Eagle Lake near Union Grove, Wisconsin with three of his siblings in 1970. There, Jerry relished sailing, water skiing, cookouts, bonfires, and card games with his family. Jerry was still water skiing into his 70s! An excellent card player, Jerry especially enjoyed sheepshead (which he claimed to have played since age 2) and cribbage. 

Jerry was also an avid traveler. He embarked on his first big road trip—to Mexico—when he was just 19, with a bunch of pals before joining the Army. (You can hear an account of that trip in Jerry’s own words on The Meispod, episode #5.) Jerry carefully planned annual road trips for his family throughout their childhood years which cumulatively covered every mainland state and much of Canada. On those trips, Jerry marveled at the vast and varied North American landscape, walked through mountains and caves and even rode some rapids with Brian, played in the oceans, enjoyed numerous amusement parks and roadside diners, skipped a lot of rocks into streams, and splashed his legendary cannonball jump into the pool of every hotel they stayed at along the way. Later, he expanded his itinerary to include international travel, starting with a trip to Greece, Rome, and Paris in the 1980s when his brother Ray lived in Athens. He took several more European trips while Janet lived in London, as well as group trips to Ireland with friends. Favorite vacations included several adventures to South America in his 70s, while Brian lived in Uruguay. He rode horseback through the Pantanal and fished for piranhas among alligators. 

While Jerry’s last decade was relatively less active, it was nevertheless characterized by his prevailing attitudes of optimism and contentment. He enjoyed many days in his sunroom watching with great interest the birds and other critters scamper around the beautiful garden Carol cultivated or feeling the warmth of the sun sitting on his patio, many nights beside the fire watching his beloved Badgers, Packers, Bucks, and Brewers, as well as lunch and dinner outings with friends. He kept abreast of community, national, and world events through reading the daily paper and current events magazines, and actively debated current affairs with family and friends. And he still enjoyed the chair swing under his favorite Maple tree at the cottage, boat rides across Eagle Lake, and long drives around the countryside, especially on golden autumn days. 

Carol and Jerry had a long-standing cribbage rivalry and played at least one match together almost every day during his later years, expanding the game to three- or four-handed whenever any of his children, grandchildren, or other cribbage-playing visitors were in the house. These card games were a daily highlight, even when (less often than not) he came out on the losing side, as was the case on the morning of the day he passed away.

 Jerry was blessed to be able to look back on his 92 years with profound satisfaction and gratitude. By any measure, he lived a very successful and contented life. But he did not take sole credit for his success. Rather, Jerry gave credit to the opportunities and other good fortune that came his way, and particularly the good people he surrounded himself with—mentors and friends, his children and grandchildren, and especially his beloved wife, Carol. 

The family will hold a private memorial service, but invites all those who wish to share in a celebration of Jerry’s life to join them Saturday, May 30th at 1pm at their cottage on Eagle Lake—2721 Lakeshore Dr, Kansasville, Wisconsin. In lieu of flowers, donations to the Hope Center in Waukesha are encouraged and appreciated.