Virgil Meedel

Virgil G. Meedel, 94, died Friday, February 11, 2022, at Nebraska Methodist Hospital in Omaha from complications following hip surgery.

A graveside service will be held on Wednesday, February 16, at 10:00 a.m. at Gruetli Cemetery in rural Monroe followed by an 11:00 memorial service at St. Luke's United Church of Christ in Columbus. Lunch at the church will follow. Memorials are not requested.

Virgil was born November 26, 1927, in rural Monroe to Ella and Frederick Meedel. After graduating from Monroe High School and then serving his country, he married Aretta Loseke from Platte Center. They started a family and moved to Lincoln where he worked full time while also earning a B.S. in Civil Engineering from UNL. Upon graduation, Virgil moved his family to the Monroe area to start an engineering career in Columbus.

A few years later the family moved to Omaha so that Virgil could pursue better career opportunities. While working full time in Omaha and growing his family to include 5 children, Virgil commuted to Lincoln to earn an M.S. in Structural Engineering at UNL. This allowed him to continue to advance his career while giving him the opportunity to work in big cities across the country and design award- winning engineering projects such as the Washington, DC subway tunnel system.

A child of the depression, Virgil was always a hard worker. "Free time" wasn't really in his vocabulary. Throughout his life, whenever he wasn't working at a paid position, he was tackling a home remodeling/construction project or planting and harvesting the bounty from his and Aretta's gardens and orchards.

Virgil is survived by his daughter Marilyn (Doug) Larson, son Jim (Shari) Meedel, brother Don (Donna) Kummer, nine grandchildren and seven great grandchildren. He is preceded in death by wife Aretta Meedel, daughter Laurie Liss, daughter Tamara Meedel, daughter Robyn Smotherman, dear friend Dolores Wilfong and brother Milton Meedel.