Jerry Meysembourg, of Prior Lake, passed away peacefully during the early morning hours of Thursday, May 21, 2015 at the age of 68. The visitation is Tuesday, May 26 from 4 – 7 PM, and Mass of Christian Burial is Wednesday, May 27 at 10 AM with visitation one hour prior, both at the Church of St. Michael in Prior Lake. Father Tom Sieg will preside. Pall bearers for Jerry are, Brian McCarthy, Steve Winget, Doug Daninger, Barett Brandt, Andrew Brandt and Victor Koehler. Jerry will be laid to rest at Fort Snelling National Cemetery with full military honors.
On February 27, 1947 Francis and Ruth (Snow) Meysembourg celebrated the birth of their son, Gerald Francis Meysembourg. Jerry was the oldest child and big brother to Tom, Mary and Judy. He could be their best friend or their worst enemy. While he pulled many pranks at their expense, they were also richly blessed with his constant love, support & protection. As a boy Jerry began a lifelong passion for all things racing. He especially liked racing snowmobiles, go carts and dirt bikes and working on cars. After graduating from Harding High School, Jerry enlisted in the US Air Force. He proudly served his country at Carswell AFB in Texas from 1966 until he was honorably discharged in 1970.
After the Air Force, Jerry returned to Minnesota and lived with dear friends, Jay and Carolyn Sperry. Carolyn was a big influence on Jerry’s life through her strong Catholic faith. Jay and Jerry were glued at the hip as they shared a passion for racing which made them life-long friends. Through Jay, Jerry was able to get a job that enabled him to do what he loved most – representing Rupp by racing their snowmobiles. He was very successful at it and won many races. Although racing was Jerry’s passion, he began a career selling forklifts and spent over 30 years with Herc-U-Lift.
In 1975, Jerry met Vicki Rold. They built a house together in Burnsville – Jerry was very knowledgeable in many trades (plumbing, electrical, carpentry, mechanics), which made the process much easier. They were blessed with two beautiful daughters, Amy in 1979 and Alicia in 1981. In 1980, they bought a cabin on Lake Wapogasset. The family spent every weekend during the summer at the cabin where Jerry developed a love for lake activities. In 1986, they sold their house and cabin and moved to a home on Prior Lake. Jerry enjoyed the yearly sailing vacations the family took to the Apostle Islands, frequent boat rides down the St. Croix and snowmobiling in Iron River, Wisconsin with his family and friends.
In the late 1990’s Jerry was set up on a blind date by a friend. He ended up meeting the love of his life, Diane. Jerry knew immediately that Diane was the one for him. After only two months of dating, he asked Diane to marry him. At first, Diane thought Jerry was too good to be true, but she soon learned that he was really that wonderful. Jerry and Diane exchanged wedding vows on December 8, 2001.
Jerry and Diane did a wonderful job of blending their families together, and Jerry especially loved having another daughter, Alisa. As a family they were always getting together to grill out, go for a boat ride or just be together. Their house was also the hot spot for holidays, especially the 4 th of July which was Jerry’s favorite – he loved watching the fireworks from his yard. When the whole crew wasn’t around, Jerry and Diane spent a lot of time working in the yard, riding the Harley, enjoying the lake and golfing together.
About six months ago, Jerry was diagnosed with stage four cancer. Throughout his journey, he remained positive, hopeful and fought hard. One thing he drew strength from was having the opportunity to meet his first grandchild, Kylie McCarthy, who was born on 2/17/15—he was blessed to have 3 beautiful months to get to know her. He was surrounded by many loved ones when he passed.
Jerry was a loving, kind, caring, talented, hard-working, fun, (and stubborn!) man. He loved his family and dear friends more than anything and was always there to lend a hand and help them with whatever they needed. He was the go-to man because of his rich knowledge of anything mechanical, electrical or carpenter related. He could literally fix ANYTHING. He took deep pride and meticulous care in all things he had— from his perfect lawn to a garage floor you could wear new white socks on to waxing everything from his boat & cars to his lawn mower and even his golf clubs. He will be deeply missed and remembered always by his wife, Diane Meysembourg; daughters, Amy (Brian) McCarthy, Alicia (Doug Daninger) Meysembourg, Alisa (Steve Winget) First; granddaughter, Kylie McCarthy; siblings, Tom Meysembourg, Mary Koehler, Judy (Larry) Brandt; beloved pet Boo; and many loving relatives and friends. Jerry is preceded in death by his parents Francis and Ruth and an infant sister, Ruth.
The Meysembourg family is served with honor, care and compassion by Ballard-Sunder Funeral & Cremation.
