Joseph Charles Meissner

MEISSNER, Joseph Charles, age 101, of Oakwood, passed away Tuesday, September 7, 2004. Joseph, “Charlie”, was born September 28, 1902 to Anton and Barbara Donhauser Meissner in East Fairfield, Columbiana County, Ohio, the seventh of 15 children. His parents came to America from Germany in 1886. When he was two years of age, his family acquired a larger dairy farm in Salem, Ohio. Joseph, along with the other children, helped on the farm – he tilled the fields with a horse-drawn plow, milked cows morning and evening, and walked to a one-room schoolhouse three miles from home. In 1925, Mr. Meissner moved to Cleveland Heights where he was a resident for 79 years. He married Nora Cusack, an immigrant from Ireland, in 1941. Charlie loved to travel. In 1930 he sailed by ocean liner to Germany with his sister Elizabeth and their parents. He went to Ireland in 1972 with his wife Nora. There, Joseph climbed the 2, 500-foot Crough Patrick Mountain. The Meissners also enjoyed trips and programs sponsored by the Cleveland Heights Office on Aging. Cleveland Heights’ homes are known for fine craftsmanship and detail –thanks to talented men like Joseph, a carpenter who worked on over 300 Heights homes, and who was the oldest and longest serving member of the Cleveland Carpenters Union. Mr. Meissner, lived at 3512 Woodridge Road since 1958, and was a member of St. Louis Parish for over 46 years. His second residence for the last five years has been with his daughter Rose and her family in Oakwood. In 2002, on his 100th birthday, Joseph was honored by the City of Cleveland Heights, with a Proclamation honoring his achievements. During the last year of his life he enjoyed three airline trips to New Orleans to visit family. Joseph was preceeded in death by his wife Nora in 1998. He is survived by two daughters, Anne Meissner of Cleveland Heights and San Francisco, and Rose (Bill) Vernon of Oakwood; three sons, Joseph (Zora) Meissner of Cleveland Heights, Robert (Barbara) Meissner of Detroit, and Brian (Madeleine) Meissner of Covington, LA; ten grandchildren, Betina Meissner, Paul (Shannon) Meissner, Charles (Amanda) Meissner, Scott Meissner, Rose-Anne Meissner, Theresa Meissner, John Meissner, Meric Meissner, Lilly Meissner, Laura (Julien) Vernon-Biteau and great grand-daughter, Azalea Vernon-Biteau. Joseph is also survived by sister, Elizabeth Steele of Salem, OH. The family wishes to acknowledge and thank the staff of Lincoln Park Manor for their compassionate care of Charlie during the past three weeks. Family will receive friends from 5:30 – 8:30 PM on Thursday at Routsong Funeral Home, 6 Oakwood Ave., Oakwood. Additional funeral services will be held Friday and Saturday in Cleveland at DeJohn-Flynn-Mylott Funeral Home (4600 Mayfield Rd., S. Euclid, OH, 44121) and St. Louis Church. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to: Miami Valley Women’s Center, 2345 W. Stroop Rd., Dayton, OH 45439-2005, or St. Louis Church Education Fund, 2475 N. Taylor, Cleveland Heights, OH 44118. Condolences may be sent to the family via the funeral home’s website at www.routsong.com.

Funeral Home:
Oakwood Routsong Funeral Home
6 Oakwood Ave.
Oakwood, OH
US 45409