Earl H Meissner

Pastor Earl H. Meissner, 91, of Overland Park, KS, passed away peacefully on September 27, 2020. Visitation will be held at Advent Lutheran Church, 11800 W 151st Street, Olathe, KS 66062, on Thursday, October 1st, at 1:00pm, with the service starting at 1:30pm. The service will be live-streamed and can be accessed on the home page at https://www.adventolathe.org. A graveside service and burial will be held on Friday, October 2nd, at 2:00pm at Memorial Gardens Cemetery in Golden, IL.

Earl was born on December 28, 1928, to Otto and Elsie (Haase) Meissner, in Racine, WI. He grew up in Racine, graduating from William Horlick High School, then attended Carthage College, where he met the love of his life, Phyllis. After graduating from Carthage College, he earned his Master of Divinity (MDiv) from the Lutheran School of Theology in Chicago, IL, and began his lifelong passion of service in the Lutheran Church. He served four different congregations over 28 years, in Guttenburg, IA, Golden, IL, Burlington, IA, and Prairie Village, KS, then accepted the role of Director of Pastoral Care at Trinity Lutheran Hospital in Kansas City, MO, a position he held for 20 years. After retiring from the hospital, he volunteered as a chaplain at Trinity Manor in Shawnee, KS, for another 8 years, and occasionally substituted for vacationing pastors.

Earl's deep religious beliefs were instilled by his parents, and spawned a lifelong passion for teaching and spreading the Word of the Lord, celebrating life's momentous events such as births, baptisms, and weddings, and using his deep compassion for helping others through trying times. He became known for delivering impassioned sermons that mesmerized his congregations.

He loved his family deeply, and enjoyed celebrating birthdays, graduations, watching the big games, dining out, camping trips to Colorado, and summers at the lake, as well as telling a few 'Dad' jokes now and again to evoke smiles and groans alike. He was delighted to see the Chicago Cubs finally win a World Series, the Kansas City Chiefs win a Super Bowl, and could be seen sporting jackets from both teams to show his team pride.

He was preceded in death by his parents, his beloved wife Phyllis, and his son Greg. He is survived by his children: Paul Meissner (Shirley), Mark Meissner, Kris Russell (James); grandchildren: Kendra Feuerbacher (Josiah), Laura Kiekel (Kyle), Drew Meissner (Jessica), Scott Meissner, Nick Meissner, Michael Meissner, Christopher Meissner, Ava Meissner, Halle Meissner, Amber Elliott, and Jeremy Russell; and great grandchildren: Madison Feuerbacher, JJ Kiekel, Jordan Scott Kiekel, Kinsley Meissner, Alexis Elliott, and Trenton Elliott; niece Barbara Pearson, and nephew Stephen Osenberg.

The family would like to extend sincere gratitude to the caregivers from Ascend Hospice, and the staff from The Atriums Senior Living Community, for the loving care they provided during Earl's final days.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions are encouraged to be made to Advent Lutheran Church in Olathe, KS.