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Jerry Meislik Obituary
Jerry "JIR" Meislik, 77, passed peacefully away September 28, 2024 surrounded by his loving family.
Jerry was born in Czechoslovakia to Sigmund and Bella Meislik. He immigrated to the United States when he was very young. He met his soulmate Rhona while in medical school and they were married in 1970. They had 54-1/2 loving and wonderful years together. He leaves behind his devoted wife Rhona, his "honorary children" Ben & Kat DeVall as well as his cherished granddaughter Addison DeVall. Jerry and Addi had a very special relationship and after she named him "Jir" the name stuck. He also leaves behind his brother Michael Meislik (Miriam); his niece Ramit Mizrahi (Justin Bois) and son Ben; his niece Brooke Tow (Adam)and children Ziva and Sigal, along with other special family members, many friends, patients and his beloved cat Sammi. He was predeceased by his parents
When he was 3 Jerry decided to become a doctor and never waivered from that decision. He loved practicing ophthalmology and performing eye surgery in Ann Arbor Michigan. Upon moving to Whitefish he worked part-time at Glacier Eye Clinic for many years. Retirement allowed him to follow his life-long passions of bonsai; writing 2 popular books on Ficus Bonsai; photography and playing with the computer. He and Rhona loved traveling and visited many fascinating places.
Jerry received absolutely amazing medical care over the last 3.5 years. We cannot individually name everyone but a special thanks to Dr. Jennings, Dr. Roop, the staff at Logan Health Whitefish and especially the Infusion Center Staff.
For those wishing to honor Jerry's life please send donations to the Whitefish Community Foundation or a charity of your choice.
Jerry has been cremated and no service is planned at this time. A celebration of life will be planned at a future date.
To send online condolences please visit www.austinfh.com. Austin Funeral & Cremation Services is caring for the family.
To plant trees in memory, please visit the Sympathy Store.
Memories and Condolences
for Jerry Meislik
Sponsored by Austin Funeral and Cremation Services - Whitefish.
5 Entries
Ross hopkins
October 13, 2024
It wasnt until i started the path to collect and master the knolidge and biology of ficus that i learned you passed. I promise someday ill describe a ficus in your name.
John R. McCabe
October 8, 2024
Jerry was a great friend, a pleasure to hike with, and a photographer who produced photographs that I have long tried to emulate. My thoughts and prayers for Rhona and family.
RIP my friend.
RIP my friend.
Marie Randolph
October 5, 2024
Rhonda. I am so sorry to hear of Dr. Meislik´s death. We loved it when he joined the staff at Glacier Eye Clinic. He was a pleasure to know a great co-worker. A kind gentle man. I always loved running into you both on the mountain to take a few runs. So sorry for your loss. We all loved Jerry. Hugs from the Randolphs. Jerry and Marie.
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Sharon Page
October 4, 2024
I was surprised to see that only a small portion of a single sentence mentioned Jerry's bonsai avocation. Maybe his family didn't realize that Jerry's name is a household word for tens of thousands of bonsai enthusiasts who followed his blog, own his two books on Ficus bonsai, or maintain trees that Jerry started as cuttings from his own extensive collection.
I'm a relatively new hobbyist that collects tropical bonsai and emailed Jerry with some questions just a couple of months before his death. Jerry sent a very helpful reply and offered to answer any further questions. I didn't know at that time that he was ill and was shocked to learn of his passing last week.
Bonsai forums and Facebook groups have been full of "in memoriams" for Jerry and appreciation for the huge body of knowledge that he shared with the tropical bonsai community worldwide.
My condolences to Jerry's family. He will be greatly missed by thousands of people around the world.
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Austin Funeral and Cremation Services - Whitefish807 Spokane Ave, Whitefish, MT 59937
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