Kenneth Wayne Meeks

1942 - 2024

Captain Kenneth W. Meeks, CEC, USN (Ret), died in Cumming, GA, on October 29, 2024.
Born on September 28, 1942, in Union Point, GA, to William and Iris Meeks, Ken graduated from Gainesville High School in his hometown of Gainesville, GA. He attended Georgia Tech for one year before attending the United States Naval Academy (USNA), in Annapolis, Maryland. During his Naval Academy years, Ken was very active in the Baptist Student Union, and served as the State of Maryland President of the Baptist Student Union his first class (senior) year. Ken always enjoyed math, science, and engineering, and earned an area of emphasis (similar to a major) in Physics by taking an overload course every semester. He graduated from USNA with his Sixth Company in 1965.
For the first two years of his naval career, he served aboard the USS MACDONOUGH (DLG-8), in Charleston, SC, as the "Terrier" missile officer. He then transferred into the Civil Engineer Corps (CEC), and spent two years studying Civil Engineering at Ga Tech as a graduate student. Ken earned a Master's degree while at Ga Tech, and later earned licensure as a registered Professional Engineer in both Louisiana and Virginia.
He met and married the love of his life, Lynn (nee Chapman), during his graduate student years. Like Ken, Lynn was also from Gainesville, GA, and she was a graduate of Stetson University in Florida. Ken and Lynn had one child, Michael, born in 1974.
Ken's Navy career touched on all areas of responsibility of the Naval Facilities Engineering Command. His assignments as a Captain (O-6) included:
-Senior Engineer (Officer in Charge of Construction) on the island of Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean;
-Commanding Officer of the Great Lakes Naval Training Center Public Works Center;
-and Deputy Assistant Secretary in the Department of Energy in Washington, D.C. in charge of the nation's Naval Petroleum and Oil Shale Reserves.
Retiring from the Navy in 1994, Ken decided he wanted to become a college professor. He went back to school, and earned a Doctorate in Civil Engineering (Structures) from The George Washington University. He accepted a position on the faculty of Tri-State University, Angola, IN (now renamed Trine University), a private university that specialized in teaching undergraduate engineering. He had a very successful second career there, retiring for the second time in 2008 as a Full Professor and Head of the Department of Civil and Environment Engineering. He was awarded professor emeritus status.
Ken is survived by his wife of 56 years, Lynn; son Michael; daughter-in-law Anne; three beautiful granddaughters; sister Wilma and her husband Ray; and two nieces.
Visitation will be on Monday, November 4, 2024 from 11:00 am-12:00 pm at the McDonald and Son Funeral in Cumming, Georgia. A memorial service will also be held Monday, November 4, 2024 at 12:00 pm at the McDonald and Son Funeral Home Chapel. Pastor Jeff Jackson of First Redeemer Church will officiate. Burial and Graveside services, including military honors, will be held at Sawnee View Memorial Gardens, in Cumming, Georgia, immediately following the memorial service.