Michael Lee Meister

Although I have never met Mike, I know his son Lane and now see where the passion and creative talents come from. May his spirit soar high and his unfulfilled wishes be created through his loved ones. He will be missed and his life accomplishments remembered.

I was lucky enough to be one of Mike Miester's Industrial Design students at KU. He was one of my favorite teachers.

My condolences to the Meister Family. I know you will miss Mike. Just remember him always and pull from the strength he gave you during his life.

I was lucky enough to work with Mike at both Design Group and at Cessna. There was two things I learned very quickly about Mike and that was he could do amazing designs in a matter of minutes and the other other was just how much he loved his children. I was hoping to spend some time with Mike in my retirement -- Mike I'm so going to miss you.

I had the privilege to work with Mike for many years at Cessna Aircraft. He was one of my Mentors, Co-worker and my friend, I will miss his stories and he had a few!!! He always had a smile and was willing to take on any project. He has passed to soon without an opportunity to say goodbye, so I will tell you the family that I will miss him and his Christmas cards, they always made me laugh. You should all know that he loved you very much and talked about you often, yes most of the stories where about you, he was very proud to be your father. Mike we are all going to miss you!!!!!

)

Sorry for the Meister family loss. Deepest sympathy to Joel, Lane and Loren, and extended family.

Eric and Family, So sorry to hear of your father's passing May he rest in peace. Our hearts are broken. Much love and prayers to you.

It is hard for me to believe Mike is gone. My heart goes out to the family. Mike was my neighbor for over 5 years and if I needed anything he was there to lend a hand. He will be greatly missed. God bless all of you. Jane Burns

We shared many early years with Mike and families in the 70's at Richard Ten Eyck Design. Mike was very talented and a very close friend to all of us, so personable. Helping move his albums several times, feeding him, dancing to the music, playing, picnicking, boating and raising our children was shared by all. Please know we have many good memories and want to share our best wishes and sympathy at this time.
Larry Bob and Myrna Jones
Designer friend

Mike Meister was someone that was special, and I am thankful that I had the chance to get to know him, although that time seems to have passed so quickly. He had such a wonderful blend of incredible talent, wit and humility that he made an impact on all of our lives beyond design. I will always remember Mike as someone who improved the quality of our lives by the example of how he lived his life, and shared it with us.

Mike was an inspiration to work with and a great mentor to have as a young designer just starting his own career. He has definitely left his mark on many people, myself included. We will miss you buddy.

My family was blessed to get to know Mike over the last couple of years. Mike welcomed us to the neighborhood and made us feel right at home. He will be dearly missed!!

He was such an inspiration to everyone he worked with! Mike left a mark on the aircraft industry that will last forever! He will be missed. Our prayers are with you.

I was lucky enough to have Mike as a professor at KU, and can say without a doubt that he was one of my favorites! Some of the renderings he did were simply incredible! But as good as he was at drawing or rendering, he was an even better person! God is getting a good one!
I am so glad I got to see him at Richard Branham's retirement party before he passed! My sincere condolences to his family!

I posted this on Facebook the day Mike passed and wanted to share it here:

Design is a curious profession. it's about far more than earning a college degree. It's also about creativity and God given talent. Today I lost another one of my design friends, Mike Meister, to cancer. Mike was everything a designer wanted to be. He was hard working, intelligent, innovative, creative and loaded with more raw talent than you can imagine.

I first met Mike in 1983 where I had just started my first industrial design job at a consultancy known then as Baugh-Deines Inc. The firm started in 1967 and had an array of interesting clients such as Timex, Cobalt Boats, Ditch Witch, Coleman and many more. When Mike was introduced to me on my first day, I was impressed with two things. He was a very charming person and he could draw like Rembrandt. I was truly intimidated by his technical ability. His rough sketches looked like works of art suitable for framing.

During the course of my stay in Wichita I learned a lot from Mike. I learned how to draw 100 times better than I ever imagined possible, how to develop many ideas through visual exploration, how to interact with a client and get what you wanted, and how to enjoy life outside of design. We always had fun together. We shopped for used records (he had over 7000 albums in his private collection), tried to make his quirky Fiat x1/9 run better, dined on personal pan pizzas and drank too much Meister Brau beer. Lunch was always a treat.

Mike also enlightened me with his curious obsession with a musical genre called Exotica. I suggest you research Martin Denny if you too want to be enlightened. His most notable work was 1957's "Quiet Village". It's kind of catchy, in a difficult to describe way.

It was sad leaving Mike when I moved on to IBM in the mid 80's, but we always stayed in touch. We enjoyed a trip to Lawrence when he was teaching at KU, traded annual Christmas cards, enjoyed lengthy phone calls and continuous texting during Kansas basketball games. It's important to cheer our mighty Jayhawks on.

Mike and I had a great time just a few weeks ago in Kansas. We visited all the old haunts, and a few new ones. It was like the 1980's all over again. We even walked into the old BDI building and studio space, which was curiously being remodeled by the new owner. He gladly gave us a tour and let me take a photo of Mike standing where his old drawing table once sat. I had no idea his health was an issue, or that this trip would be the last time I would see him.

Thanks for all you did for me, your friends and family. Your talent, friendship and smile will not easily be forgotten. The village is a little quieter on this sad day.

I did not know Mike personally, but heard many stories of him from David Hill, he was planning to visit us in North Carolina. I was looking forward to meeting him, I am deeply sorry for your loss. God Bless. Beverley Weiland