Wayne

 

We lost a good friend in Missoula this past weekend. Wayne was an incredible man who gave a tremendous amount of time to so many people and organizations in the community. He will be missed....

MISSOULA - Wayne Paul Van Meter, 81, passed away Sunday, Sept. 2, 2007. Wayne was a 48-year resident of Missoula who was greatly loved and admired by family and friends.

Wayne was a California native who joined the Army following high school graduation, serving in both the U.S. and Italy during World War II. Following military service, he attended Fresno State and Oregon State universities before spending five years in Richland, Wash., working for General Electric and the Atomic Energy Commission at the Hanford site. Wayne then attended the University of Washington, where he graduated with a Ph.D. in chemistry. He came to Missoula and in 1959 began a 29-year career as a chemistry professor at the University of Montana. He also spent 15 years working for the U.S. Forest Service in the Missoula Northwest Forest Fire Laboratories.

During and after Wayne's rewarding teaching career, he held numerous positions benefiting his community. Wayne served for years on the Missoula County Health Board, using his knowledge to improve air and water quality in this region.

Wayne greatly enjoyed the outdoors, especially all the beautiful country in western Montana. He was an environmentalist who contributed to the conservation and history of this area. He helped construct an exhibit in the museum at Philipsburg.

Wayne served in the U.S. Army Signal Corps during World War II and so became an avid ham radio operator, working for many years with the Hellgate Amateur Radio Club where he established strong friendships. His ham radio license led him to volunteer as a communicator for a countywide disaster drill in 1992, stationed at the American Red Cross office. He became the local office's disaster services chair in 1993 and combined that with the armed services emergency services chairmanship in 1996. He also has served on the local ARC board. Wayne was the national recipient for the American Red Cross Armed Forces Emergency Services Award for May 2006. He served as the AFES coordinator for the Missoula Service Center and formed a team of 11 trained volunteers to assist in the program. Throughout his tenure with the Red Cross, Wayne recruited 48 new volunteers.

Wayne has always maintained strong ties with the armed forces and was a member of the American Legion Hellgate Post No. 27. He also had many long friendships from his years in the Big Sky Thunderbirds model airplane club. He built and flew many different remote control aircraft. He was also an avid stamp collector and was a member of the local stamp collectors' club.

Wayne is survived by his wife Helen and their sons and daughters: Stephen, Christine, Anne and James.

The family suggests memorials in Wayne's name to the Missoula Chapter of the American Red Cross, 1500 W. Broadway, Missoula, MT 59808.