Victor L. Meely

Victor L. Meely was born October 20, 1966 in Suffolk, Virginia. After dealing with chronic illness, Victor fell asleep in death on July 25, 2023 at the age of 56. He was residing in Norfolk, Virginia.

Victor was the eldest son of two sons born to the late Ulysses & Eleanor Meely. Victor (or Vic as his friends called him) spent his formative years in Suffolk, Virginia. He always had a joyful smile and a friendly manner. Their parents may have only had two boys (Victor and Mark), but cousin Jennifer was as close to a sibling as one could be. Asked to share a memory, Jennifer Jackson (nee Meely) offered a page out of the book of their youth:

“This actually happened on a regular basis when we were young teenagers. I just felt like they needed to know what it was like to have a sister – an older sister. So back at the time when they were trying to be cute and look at sisters at the convention, I always busted that up. But I paid for it later because as soon as I got home, Victor would grab me by my ankles and hold me upside down until I could not scream anymore. He was thick then and built and I was a little skinny something. His mom would say, “Do not drop her! Put her down! Don’t drop her on her head!”” They were an inseparable three. And they remained so for the entirety of their lives. 

But life was not all fun and games for Victor. He had a spiritual hunger that was first sparked by his parents, who were both pioneers (full-time ministers). They instilled in both their sons love for Jehovah and the value of hard work. Victor symbolized his dedication to Jehovah on July 9, 1983. From childhood, Ulysses also taught Victor and Mark the valuable trade of plastering, which turned into a family business. But Vic’s main work was promoting Kingdom interests.    

Victor began pioneering in 1988.  He soon learned he could use his secular training to assist in the construction of Kingdom Halls. He worked with the Regional Building Committee (RBC) and even traveled to St. Kitts to lend his plastering skills to Kingdom Hall construction on that Caribbean Island.

In 1995, Victor attended the Ministerial Training School (now known as the School for Kingdom Evangelizers (SKE)) in Salisbury, North Carolina. After successfully completing the course, he was assigned to serve as a missionary to Liberia, a country along the coast of West Africa. Although he initially did not want travel overseas, he would never say “no” to Jehovah. 

At the time, Liberia was in the midst of a heated civil war. So, in April of 1996, Victor’s “Here I am. Send me” attitude moved him to obediently accept a temporary reassignment to the closest neighboring country, Sierra Leone. (Isaiah 6:8) Victor proved again that his love for Jehovah was greater than his fear of the unknown. Within a year, he returned to Liberia and was assigned to the Crown Hill Congregation, which became beloved by him. By the time he finally left Africa in August of 2003 to care for his ailing parents, Victor’s missionary service had taken him as far as the French-speaking, Ivory Coast and to Guinea, West Africa. 

Relating an example of his reliance on Jehovah, close friend and family member, Kendall Jackson, shared a conversation he had with Vic in his missionary days in the Ivory Coast. “I remember Vic saying, ‘They put me in a French-speaking congregation, and I didn’t know anything they were saying! It was just me and Jehovah man.” 

Although he often faced the challenges of blistering heat (sometimes as high as 130 degrees), violent wars, tropical diseases, foreign language and many other trying situations, Victor stayed where he was assigned because he loved Jehovah and the people he served. In each location, he did his utmost to support the congregations, to assist brothers in need and to help many to learn the pure language of truth.

After returning to the States, Victor first settled where his parents were living in Suffolk, Virginia and self-sacrificingly cared for them until their death. In 2005, Vic called an old friend, Celeste Poon, whom he had met in the summer of 1991 in Toronto, Canada where Mark and he would travel annually to attend conventions of Jehovah’s Witnesses. The relationship blossomed. Vic fell in love with this young pioneer. And on March 3, 2007, they married. February 4, 2011, they received a surprise gift with the birth of their daughter Zara.  Thereafter he and Celeste extended their goals and began raising their precious inheritance, Zara in the “discipline and admonition of Jehovah” (Ephesians 6:4)

Etched in Zara’s 12-year-old mind is her father’s spiritual training. “He used to wake me up at 7am in the morning on Saturdays. “We have a routine,” he would say. “We have to go to service at 10am. And then we always did something together afterward. He always made service fun.”

In 2009, the family moved to Norfolk, Virginia. Vic and Celeste made sure that their family enjoyed fun times and recreation, especially travel home and abroad. Their love of travel took them to such locations from New York to Egypt, Thailand, Israel, and many places in between.

As for humor, Victor didn’t just imitate the Christ, he imitated people too. Among his other talents, Vic gave hilarious, yet respectful voice impressions of his friends. And he created opportunities to make his little girl feel like the meaning of her name. Why the name Zara? It is an Arabic name, a form of the Biblical Sarah, meaning princess. What were some of the things daddy Vic did to make his little Princess Zara feel special? “He used to sit at a small table and have tea parties with her when she was little,” Celeste reminisced. They would watch movies together and play Mario Tennis on Nintendo Switch. And they would be teasing each other.”

Zara added, “Well, every once in a while, we would have these daddy & daughter days. We would go to the movies or to an arcade. One time, mom had a girls’ night, and we went to Dave & Busters. It was very exciting. He liked to play games, not little kid games like Sponge Bob, but other games, like basketball. We played that all the time. There were only a few times when I got to beat him, but he always beat me. He was good. We would always joke around. And we would go to the beach and sit and talk about anything going on in my life.”

When asked what she wanted people to know about her father, Zara described him this way, “My dad was always a really great dad. He always thought about what he was going to do and what decision he was going to make. He didn’t blare out words. He thought before he spoke. He didn’t say anything bad to me or my mom or to anybody. And my dad was always a caring person. He would always visit people in hospitals. And he always said he wanted to go back to Africa to see his friends. He will 100% go to Africa when he comes back [in paradise] and I’ll be with him.”

Touchingly, Victor shared a special moment with his daughter the Sunday night before his death. Zara softly shared, “He said he was really proud of me and the person I became.” What does she look forward to most about the resurrection to come? Zara paused for a minute and simply stated, “Just to see my father.”

Victor’s easygoing, casual warmth endeared him to everyone he met. His kindness, humility and love put people at ease. Vic and Celeste were well known for their hospitality.  And their house was always open, so much so that friends referred to it as the “Hotel Meely.” They were quick to invite circuit & district overseers, bethel, Public Information Desk (PID) and other representatives to stay in their home whenever they visited. 

Celeste says that Victor would often approach her with a conversation that went like this:

“I know you would say ‘yes,’ but I’m just asking if so-and-so can stay?” 

“When?” she would reply. 

“Today,” he would answer.  

“Oh my!” she would respond. “I got to get this place ready.”

Celeste commented, “That is the biggest thing we did as a family. We always had our home open to everyone that came. It was never a burden to us. And we never made it feel like a burden. We always felt like everyone who stayed was family. It was a learning experience for Zara. It also gave folks an opportunity to visit with his mom. She loved that.  Our house was never closed for anybody. Even if we weren’t here, we made sure they could get in. That was our little niche. We loved and were interested in getting to know the brothers.”

Pioneering over 30 years, Brother Meely practiced what he preached.  One of his favorite aspects of the ministry was conducting Bible Studies. Celeste reminisced about his ministry, that “Victor really enjoyed teaching people the Bible. In Liberia, he would have like 20 studies…Even when he came back to the states, he would sometimes have 4 – 5 studies a week. People would ask him to study with them. He was simple and clear.” 

During his life, our dear Vic persevered through much uncertainty, whether it be civil unrest in his assignments, or changing family and health conditions. But ‘he always found joy in giving his best for Jehovah and brothers,” Celeste recalls. 

While working secularly and caring for his family, Victor also took on many other responsibilities in the Organization including: coordinator of the body of elders in Bay Congregation (his home congregation), Assistant Assembly Overseer, Hospital Liaison Committee (HLC) representative, coordinator of the local Patient Visitation Group (PVG), PID, Regional Convention Committee assistant and Convention speaker. 

How did Victor feel about his responsibilities? “He loved Jehovah, and he loved His people. He was just such a listening ear to everybody. He was patient with everybody.  His life - everything that was done was for Jehovah.” says Celeste in fond remembrance. “That was my buddy. Every day was a new memory.” This past June, Victor and Celeste had the privilege of attending Pioneer Service School together. 

On the weekend before he closed his eyes, Victor not only attended all three days of the “Exercise Patience” Regional Convention of Jehovah’s Witnesses, but he also delivered two speaking assignments. The first was a talk in the Friday morning symposium, “There is an Appointed Time for Everything: Reaching Goals Takes Time.” Explaining the theme Scripture, Ecclesiastes 11:4, 6, he noted, “A farmer can’t wait for perfect weather to sow seed… cannot be concerned about the uncertainties of weather. Get busy at your work. Only by working can you achieve the desired results. Life is as uncertain as the weather. Do not let that discourage you. Do everything you can for Jehovah and the brothers and Jehovah will do the rest and will bless your efforts…Now is he time to reach goals, to work with a sense of urgency.”

Fittingly, Victor’s service to Jehovah was always carried out with a sense of urgency. 

Brother Meely also presented the concluding talk of the Saturday program. His final words to the audience of almost 1700, was “Pray for kings so we can go on living a quiet and calm life. With the help of our God Jehovah, we will be completely victorious.” 

Less than three days later, he went to sleep victorious in his faith. One of his favorite Kingdom songs was “He will call.” (Song 151) According to his family, he sang it aloud almost every day as he stood by the kitchen sink washing dishes. And he said, “If I die, this is the song I want to go out with.” We are confident that, in accord with Jehovah’s loyalty and Victor’s lifelong faithful course, “From death he will awaken. Then we’ll come to see all that life can be: Paradise eternally.”

Victor was preceded in death by his parents, Ulysses and Eleanor Meely

Victor’s memory will be cherished by his wife Celeste, his daughter Zara, His brother Mark Meely, and his cousin, who he viewed as a sister, Jennifer Jackson. He will also be remembered by many beloved family members, including aunts, uncles, cousins, and a host of special friends from congregations of Jehovah’s Witness throughout the United States, Canada, and Africa.