MEIER, William (Bill) Arthur

The White Mountain Independent, Show Low, Arizona ~ September 25, 2008 William "Bill" Arthur Meier was called home to heaven Sept. 23, 2008, after battling cancer for five months. He was born in Sleepy Eye, Minn., May 23, 1941, to Arthur and Doris Meier. At the age of 2, the family moved to the Apache Indian Reservation in Whiteriver, where Arthur Meier served as principal at East Fork Mission. Bill spent his childhood on the reservation where he was able to enjoy the wonders of God's creation, in the beautiful area that surrounds the mission. In 1957, he left to go to Dr. Martin Luther High School to begin his ministerial education. While Bill would live the rest of his life elsewhere, he always remarked when he returned to the White Mountains, "This is home to me." After graduating from Northwestern College in 1963, Bill went to the seminary in Mequon, Wis., to become a minister. During the summers while he was at the seminary, he decided to pursue a master's degree at Michigan State University. There he met Marcia Finch, whom he married Aug. 13, 1966. The Lord blessed them with six children, Kristi, Heidi, Jodi, Staci, Paul and Mandi. He was a devoted husband, father and grandfather who not only showed his family his love but taught them the importance of God's love and being a child of God. Upon graduating from the seminary in 1967, he was assigned to St. Thomas Lutheran Church, a mission in Phoenix and was installed in August of that year. He served at St. Thomas until his retirement in April of this year. During that time, the Lord worked through him to start a mission congregation in Yuma, begin reaching out to the Hispanic people of Maryvale and ultimately start a second campus of St. Thomas in Goodyear. In addition to sharing God's word at St. Thomas, his passion for mission work and spreading God's Word into all the world was evident through his 26 years of service on the Board for World Missions for the Wisconsin Lutheran Synod. He began his service on the board as a member of the administrative committee for Native American Missions from 1973-1981 and continued to serve the cause of World Missions as board chairman until 1999. While serving as chairman, he was blessed by God with being able to travel to many foreign mission fields around the world providing guidance and support to the missionaries and their families. He also served as board chairman for a group of Arizonans inspired to establish a Lutheran High School in Arizona which, through God's grace, resulted in the opening of Arizona Lutheran Academy in 1978. He also was blessed with serving as the spiritual advisor to many other boards including the HELP Foundation and Kingdom Workers. He was preceded in death by his father, mother and older sister Ruth. Bill is survived by his wife, Marcia, and their six children, Kristi (Steve) Ostendorf, Heidi (Marshall) Mageo, Jodi (Paul) Hirsch, Staci (Erik) Landwehr, Paul (Suze) Meier and Mandi (Andrew) Miller; nine grandchildren, sisters Marilyn (John) Ewart, Nettie (Carl) Dins, Kathy (Ken) Borchert and Carol (Denny) Hines; and brother Bob (Lois) Meier. A service of praise and thanksgiving for the blessings of Bill's life will be held at 4 p.m. Friday, Sept. 26, at Grace Lutheran Church, 5600 W. Palmaire Ave., in Glendale. A viewing will be held prior to the service from 2-4 p.m. In lieu of flowers, the family requests memorials be made to St. Thomas Lutheran Church, Arizona Lutheran Academy, WELS World Missions, WELS Kingdom Workers or Hospice of the Valley.