Henry Milton Meinecke, 78, was born in Memphis, Tenn. on January 18, 1943, the eldest child of Orval and Betty (Wendland) Meinecke. He and his siblings grew up on a small farm in Hot Springs, Ariz. where their dad was a veterinarian in town and their mom ran the household. Henry would often accompany his dad on farm calls and his first job was walking dogs and cleaning out the cages at the vet clinic.
From a young age, Henry had a passion for music, beginning with the tuba. In high school he marched with a sousaphone in the Hot Springs High School marching band. He also loved to sing. As a tenor, he was a welcome presence in church choirs of the many Lutheran churches of which he was a part. In college, in the church choir, he met Patricia Richter, a music major, and a few years later they were married. Their joint avocation for music continued through their marriage through church choirs, early music consorts and handbell choirs. Henry and Pat would often start a handbell choir in their church when they moved to a new location and co-founded the community Brasstown Ringers in Brasstown, N.C., which Pat directed for 27 years.
After graduating from Hot Springs High School, Henry attended the University of Arkansas to study pre-med and finished his medical studies at the U of A Medical School. Before graduation, he was commissioned as an officer in the U.S. Navy, in the Medical Corps. He completed residency at the Naval Hospital in Portsmouth, Va.; and served at the Naval Air Station in Guam; Naval Hospital in Charleston, S.C.; Naval Regional Medical Center in Yokosuka, Japan and the Naval Hospital in Bremerton, Wash. At each and every duty station and in retirement, the Meinecke family would become an active part of a nearby Lutheran congregation. After a 26 year career as a General Surgeon with the Navy, Henry retired to private practice in Murphy, N.C., affiliated with the Murphy Medical Center.
"Doc," as many of his patients called him, was well known as an excellent surgeon and a compassionate physician. He was generous with his time with patients and in his work helping folks to understand the medical operation they were preparing to undergo and the treatments to follow. After a 28 year career in private practice, Henry retired a second time.
In 2019, he and his wife Pat moved one more time across the country from North Carolina to join their daughter in Spokane, Wash. He moved again to Riverview Memory Care, where he lived the rest of his days with the help of the compassionate care of the wonderful staff there.
Henry is survived by his wife Pat; daughters, Tamara Meinecke (John Knecht) and Kimmy Meinecke (Alex Barclay); and two grandsons, Isaac and Jeremiah Knecht, all of Spokane; brother, Richard Meinecke; sister, Louise Meinecke Ryan; and brother, Robert (Harriet) Meinecke. He is predeceased by his parents, Orval Meinecke and Betty Wendland Meinecke Ballard; and his sister Mariam Meinecke Ubwa. In lieu of flowers, send memorials to Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Services at: www.lirs.org, as Henry had a heart for those who seek safety and home in a new land, Doctors Without Borders at: www.doctorswithoutborders.org or the Alzheimer's Association at: www.alz.org.
Services will be held at 11 a.m. Friday, Nov. 5 at St. David's Episcopal Church, 7315 N. Wall St., Spokane, Wash.