LON MELDRUM obituary

LINCOLN CITY, Ore. - Lon E. Meldrum, 56, of Lincoln City, Ore., died on Thursday, June 3, 2004, after a brave fight against lung cancer.

Cremation has taken place and a service was held Monday afternoon at the Elks Lodge in Lincoln City, Ore.

Lon was born on May4, 1948, to Frank and Esther Meldrum in Havre. He went through elementary and high school in Joplin. In his youth, he was active in Boy Scouts and achieved the rank of Eagle Scout. He was an accomplished athlete at Joplin High, lettering in football, basketball and track. After graduating in 1966, he joined the U.S. Air Force and served four years as a cable-splicing specialist in the Cable Maintenance Section at Malmstrom Air Force Base in Great Falls. In 1971, he was honorably discharged and moved back to the family farm in Joplin.

In 1968, he married Jan Stuart in Hingham. They had two children. Lon left farming in 1989 and went to work for Boeing in Great Falls. He and Jan later divorced, and he moved to Lincoln City, Ore. At the time of his death, he was building kitchen cabinets and doing work that he loved to do. He built many beautiful kitchens. He was an active member of the Elks Lodge.

Lon was preceded in death by his father, Frank Martin Meldrum, and his maternal and paternal grandparents.

Survivors include his partner of 14 years, Sue Miller Poling; daughter, Tawna Meldrum (George) Parisot of Helena; son, Tim (Dana) Meldrum of Poulsbo, Wash.; mother, Esther Meldrum of Chester; brothers, Gene (Pat) Meldrum of Havre and Kent (MaryJane) Meldrum of Sebastopol, Calif.; sister, Marlene (Don) Rocks of Joplin; two grandchildren; 13 nieces and nephews; Sue's children, Darci, Wendi and Ryan, and her five grandchildren.

Condolences may be sent to Sue Poling, P.O. Box 24, Neotsu, OR 97464, or to Tawna Parisot, 426 S. Fee, Helena, MT 59601.