Dr. Henry P. Meijer

MEIJER, Dr. Henry P., physician, loving husband, father and Opa (grandfather) died at peace on Monday, February 6, 2006. He was 79. An old-school gentleman. Dr. Meijer, as he was best known, was born in Brooklyn, New York, on October 17, 1926. He was raised on the island of Java, in Indonesia, where he was interned in a Japanese prison camp during World War II. Henry received his undergraduate degree from Dartmouth College in 1950. That year he married Lily de Kent, of Amsterdam, the Netherlands, his wife of 55 years. Henry went to medical school in Cincinnati, Ohio, and was inducted into the United States Air Force in 1955. He completed his residency in internal medicine at Wilford Hall Hospital in San Antonio, Texas, and practiced medicine as an Air Force physician for 20 years, serving in numerous hospitals during that time. His last assignment in the Air Force was as commander of the Minot Air Force Base regional hospital in Minot, North Dakota. After retiring from the Air Force in 1976, Henry continued to practice privately in Minot for 30 years. Henry had a life-long passion for classical music and often traveled afar to enjoy performances of opera and symphony. He was also an avid reader, in particular, books on history, philosophy and poetry. Henry is survived by his wife, Lily and four children, Kitty Cerviani (Mario), Marian Doorley (Frank), Peter (Ruth) and Paul (Mary Claire) and eight grandchildren, Kate and Liam Doorley, Greta and Sonja Cerviani, Raymond, Miles and Tucker Meijer and Marika Meijer. A memorial service will be held for Henry at Northminster Presbyterian church in Tucson on Thursday, February 9. A service in Minot will be scheduled at a later date. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to Habitat for Humanity, the Tucson Symphony, or the Arizona Opera Company.