Henry H. Meter, 93, of Gering, passed away on Tuesday, July 2, 2024. His funeral service will be held at 10am on Monday, July 8, 2024, at Gering Zion Church in Gering, NE, with Pastor Tim Hebbert officiating. Interment will follow at West Lawn Cemetery. Visitation will be Sunday, July 7, 2024, from 4-7pm at Bridgman Funeral Home in Scottsbluff. It is respectfully requested that in lieu of any flowers, memorials in Henry’s honor have been established in care of the church. Online condolences may be made by viewing Henry’s memorial page at www.bridgmanfuneralhome.com.
Henry H. Meter was born on the family farm north of Minatare, NE, on February 5, 1931. He was the 7th of 12 children of Henry and Lena (Roth) Meter.
Henry often talked about growing up on the farm where he learned the value of hard work, even learning to drive the tractor at 7 years old. Some days he would sneak to fish at the nearby Nine Mile Creek during lunch breaks. Showing the fresh-caught trout, his father’s anger was nullified, and fish was enjoyed for dinner.
He went to North District 24 Highway School on Hwy 26 until the 7th grade. Testing out of 8th grade, he went on to Minatare High School, graduating in 1948. Henry participated in all three high school sports offered at that time: football, basketball, and track. He qualified for the state track meet and traveled to Lincoln in his coach’s car with his other teammates. It was his first time being in a big city.
In high school, he met a quiet, petite gal that worked at the Palm Theater in Bayard, NE. Evelyn Richter soon became the love of his life. They married on November 26, 1950, at Hope Congregational Church in Bayard, NE. After the wedding and reception, they packed up as many of their gifts as they could, including an ironing board, in their 1939 black Ford coupe and drove to Chadron, Nebraska, where Henry had received a scholarship to play football at Chadron State College. They lived in a “Little House in the Alley” where the davenport made out for their bed and the tiny kitchen had a table that folded up into the wall using folding chairs to sit on. One of the highlights of his career at Chadron State College was setting the school record for the longest kick return. That record stood for many years. Continuing to use his athletic abilities after graduation, he played third base on local fast pitch softball teams.
After graduating from Chadron State College, Henry accepted a teaching position in Gering, Nebraska. He taught junior high math and coached school sports for 7 years. He received his master’s degree at Northern Colorado University in Greeley, and his specialist’s degree at University of Wyoming in Laramie. He then became the junior high school principal, serving in that position for 5 years, before moving to the senior high school principal, serving there for 26 years. He also taught drivers education throughout this time. In total, he worked in the Gering School District for 38 years. He was known for seeing the potential in people and creating an environment in the school where his staff could thrive in their careers and the students could learn and succeed. He retired in 1990. He had an uncanny ability to remember his students’ names and the years they graduated long after he retired.
His family, friends, and doctor considered Henry a walking miracle of God. In 1988, he was diagnosed with melanoma and given three months to live. After an extensive surgery, future tests were always negative for cancer. This changed his outlook and focus, and he readily gave credit and thanks to the Lord. He and Evelyn celebrated this newly given blessing by cherishing their family even more and traveling to see their grandchildren’s activities along with other various places throughout the US. There were many early mornings at the golf
course. He enjoyed making frames for Evelyn’s cross-stitch projects using the old wood from the tornado-leveled barn that was on the farm where he grew up.
Henry was preceded in death by his parents; his wife of 70 years, Evelyn; six siblings: Reiny Meter, Marie Miller, Elsie Harimon, Lydia Bangert, Minnie Carter, and Ted Meter; four sisters-in-law: Ruth Meter, Emma Meter, Betty Lou Meter, and Fran Meter; six brothers-in-law: George Miller, George Harimon, Fred Bangert, Wes Carter, Bob Langhofer, and Roby Robertus; and great granddaughter Samantha Grace Knaub.
Henry is survived by his son Jerry (Chuck Ford) of Portland, OR; son David (Cindy) of Great Bend, KS, and their son, Brent (Laura) of Kansas City, KS; son Mick (Carolyn) of Lincoln, NE, and their children Austin (Tiffany) of Omaha, NE, and Cameron (Kylie) and twins Allison and Elena and son Rylan of Lincoln, NE, and Nate (Paige) and sons Benson and Desmond of Lincoln, NE; daughter Denise (Bob) Knaub of Douglas, WY, and their children Mitch and children Gabriel and Mathias of Grimes, IA, Devin (Alexandra) and children Katie and twins David and Lincoln of Boise, ID, and Elise (Michael Boyte) of Chicago, IL; three sisters: Pauline Langhofer, Betty Rupp, and Darlene Robertus; two brothers: Robert Meter and Richard Meter; brother-in-law: Jerry Rupp; and numerous nieces and nephews.
In his last days, Henry longed for the day to be with his Savior, Jesus, and with his loving wife, Evelyn, and numerous other family members and friends. He was a remarkable man and truly will be missed. Thank you Jesus for the gift of eternal life!
The family wishes to extend their sincere gratitude to the caregivers from Home Instead for their care and companionship to Henry during these last months, and the employees at Gering Runza who lovingly made the “Mr. Meter meal” many, many times and hand delivered his ice cream cone to his table.