Obituary of Artie Edward Meek

Artie Edward Meek passed away at his Soquel home on September 14th, at the age of 83 years. He was born in Springdale, Arkansas, where his mother passed away the day after his birth. Raised by his maternal grandparents, they relocated to San Benito County in the late 1930's where family members had earlier settled and found employment. Similar to the Joad family of The Grapes of Wrath, they made the journey in a 1928 Dodge which conveyed him, his grandparents, an aunt and uncle, a family friend who was the driver, a mattress on top and all their worldly possessions stuffed throughout. He lived with his grandparents until 1948, when he enlisted in the Navy at Watsonville. At the outbreak of the Korean War, Artie was ordered to the First Marine Division as a hospital corpsman. He landed in Inchon with the 7th Marines and later at Wonson in an amphibious tractor. As the Marines fought their way north, Artie sustained a gunshot wound early November 1950 in their first battlefield contact with the Chinese. Evacuated to Japan, he recuperated and rejoined his unit to complete his tour. Upon returning home he married his childhood sweetheart, Babe Delores Brown of Aptos. Artie advanced through the enlisted grades to Chief Hospital Corpsman. He was then commissioned as an Ensign in the Medical Service Corps, rising in rank to Lieutenant Commander by the time of his retirement. While in the Navy, Artie earned his high school diploma and an AA degree from Orange Coast College, along with a Bachelor's in Sociology from the University of Hawaii. In his 60s, he earned a Master's in Organizational Management from the University of Phoenix. During their nearly 63 years of marriage, Artie and Babe lived in many places. Along with their three sons, they adopted a daughter while being stationed in Hawaii. After receiving orders to Vietnam, Artie adopted an infant girl there who died at three months of age. He subsequently adopted another daughter, bringing her home with him upon his return to the states. Over the 25 years of his military service, Artie was awarded a number of decorations, including the Purple Heart, Bronze Star with a Combat V, and the Combat Action Ribbon. Upon retiring from the Navy, Artie & family moved to Alaska, where he worked for the State Health Department for three years. Returning to the lower 48 they then settled in the familiar place of their youth, Santa Cruz County, where Artie worked in management until retiring in 1992. After eight years of retirement, he decided to go back to work and was trained as a shuttle bus driver by the University of California at Santa Cruz, alma mater of his wife, Babe. Being the oldest driver at the time, he claimed this as one of his most enjoyable jobs, never encountering a rude student (though occasionally an inquisitive raccoon) on his bus during his four years behind the wheel. Artie and Babe enjoyed traveling in their motorhome, and found great satisfaction in attending Elderhostel sessions throughout the country. Regular attendance at their church, Twin Lakes, was an integral part of their lives. Living in or traveling through all of the 50 states, they also made several sojourns to other parts of the world. In later years, Artie and son Rodney made several trips to Southeast Asia, including Vietnam and South Korea. In his 80's, Artie was introduced to the outdoor recreational activity of geocaching by Rodney. This kept him busy, including a lot of walking, as he searched for hidden caches. Under his geocaching name "Soquel1930", he met many wonderful people pursuing this hobby, both online and in person. His bucket list goal was to make a find on each day of a 366 day calendar; at the time of his death he had a total of 1730. Artie was a long-time member of the Santa Cruz Chapter of the Military Officers Association of America, being the chapter's newsletter editor for five years and subsequently chapter secretary. He also was a member of the Fleet Reserve Association, Aptos VFW Post 10110 and the Military Order of the Purple Heart. At various times Artie was a docent at Wilder Ranch State Park, a volunteer driver for the American Cancer Society, and taught English as a second language through the Literacy Program. Artie is survived by his wife, Babe Delores Meek of Soquel, son Kevin Meek and daughter-in-law Marla of Santa Cruz, son Rodney Meek of Austin, Texas, son Jeremy Meek and daughter-in-law Pamela of Elgin, Illinois, daughter Karen Powers and son-in-law Paul of Santa Cruz, and daughter Katherine Hopping and son-in-law John of Felton. Linh Sue Meek, his adopted infant daughter preceded him in death and was laid to rest in Danang, Vietnam. His four grandsons and one granddaughter were the delight of his life Services will be on Friday, October 3rd at Twin Lakes Church with full military honors. His oldest grandson, CTR3 Andrew Paul Meek, a cryptologist with the United States Navy, is expected to present the ceremonial flag to Babe. In lieu of flowers, contributions are preferred to the Scholarship Fund of the Military Officers Association of California, Santa Cruz Chapter, PO Box 1011, Santa Cruz, CA 95061, Twin Lakes Church Care Ministry, or Hospice of Santa Cruz County.