On Jan 7, Dr. John Long Meisenheimer, Sr. died peacefully in his home in Orlando at 89 from transthyretin amyloid cardiomyopathy.
He was preceded in death by his first wife, Alice May Meisenheimer, parents, Kermit John Meisenheimer and Alice Velda Yonaka-Long, and grandson Xu Chi. John is survived by his wife Winnifred; his children, John “Lucky” Meisenheimer Jr. MD (Jacquie) Orlando, FL and Ben Alan Meisenheimer, MD, (Jenny) Flushing, NY; and grandchildren Maylin, John VII, Jake, and Maximus Meisenheimer.
John Long Meisenheimer, Sr. was born on 6/21/1933 in Olney, IL. He graduated from Bosse High School in 1951 and received a Centennial scholarship to attend Evansville College, where he graduated in 1954 with a BS degree in chemistry. After serving four years in the Airforce, he returned to school to follow his passion for chemistry and received a Ph.D. in organic chemistry from Indiana University in 1963.
John married Alice May Robinson on Dec 21, 1956, and celebrated 53 years of marriage until her death in 2009. He then married his current wife, Winnifred, in 2011.
He taught organic chemistry at Eastern Kentucky University for 36 years, where he was honored as a foundation professor in 1994. Dr. Meisenheimer received several EKU teaching awards and was also the author of 14 scientific publications. He was a member of several science and academic honor societies, Sigma Xi, Phi Lambda Upsilon, Phi Kappa Phi, and Phi Beta Chi. He served as acting Dept Chair on five different occasions. He was a board member of the Rural Kentucky Medical Scholarship Fund and served as a consultant for several organizations. He retired from EKU in 1999. He was named an iconic professor at EKU in 2020, and the organic chemistry lab at EKU was named in his honor.
He was best known for being America’s first space-age meteorologist and is in the history books for his crucial role in the launch of Explorer I, America’s first successful satellite launch. As an officer in the Airforce detachment 11, 4th Weather group, at Cape Canaveral, he delayed the launch of Explorer 1 for two days pushing back against pressure to change his forecast. He held firm in preventing a weather-related catastrophe. NASA later made a short documentary about his story and awarded him a medal on the 60th anniversary of the launch. He was honorably discharged from the Airforce in 1958 with the rank of Captain.
Moving to Orlando in 1999, he was better known for his recurring role as Pappy 5x in the Zombie Cause Dictionary, short films, and commercials.
He loved competition. He was a member of the Evansville college tennis team, the ROTC rifle team, and the Patrick AFB pistol team. He later became a member of the Kentucky Corps of Longriflemen competition team, where he won multiple state muzzleloading shooting championships. He was honored in Kentucky by being inducted as a Kentucky Colonel. In retirement, he played tennis and golf, competed in many events at Senior Games, and he enjoyed beating his sons and grandkids in pool and ping-pong.
He continued his excellent sense of humor up to the end. In one of his last lucid moments, shortly before he passed, he reminded his son that he wanted to be cremated, “but make damn sure I’m really dead before they start.”
Graveside service 11:00 a.m., Saturday July 29th, 2023, at the Moravian Cemetery, West Salem, IL with military rites.
Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.woodlawnfuneralhomegotha.com for the Meisenheimer family or www.meridithfuneralhome.com.
Ingram Meridith Funeral Home, West Salem, IL.