Christian Herman Meyer

Pastor Christian H. Meyer, 90, of Davenport passed away Wednesday, September 14, 2011 at Genesis East Medical Center Davenport. Funeral services will be 11:00AM Monday (9/19) at St. Mark Evangelical Lutheran Church Davenport. Burial will be at Oakdale Memorial Gardens Davenport.

Visitation will be 4-7PM Sunday (9/18) at the Runge Mortuary. Memorials may be made to St. Mark Lutheran Church and online condolences may be made at www.rungemortuary.com.

Pastor Meyer touched many lives in the Quad-Cities, serving as pastor at St. Mark in Davenport form 1965 to 1986 and currently was Pastor Emeritus. Upon retiring, he served as visitation pastor at Trinity Lutheran Church in Moline.

Reverend Meyer was born February 27, 1921 to immigrant German parents Rosa (Ring) and Jacob Meyer in Beardstown, Ill. He was the third of five boys who grew up farming in Illinois. Jake passed away when the boys were young and Rosa raised the five of them in a loving Christian environment inspiring Chris to become a minister. He graduated from Carthage College in 1942 and from the Lutheran School of Theology, Chicago, in 1944. He married his college sweetheart, Jeanne Zesiger, from Davenport on June 30, 1942. Chris preached at St. John’s in Hebron, Ill., while attending seminary. His first church, Immanuel Lutheran, was in Lake Geneva, Wis., where he served until 1950. His son, Robert, was born there. The family moved west to build a church, St. Andrews in Van Nuys, Calif., where they stayed until 1958. They were then called to Trinity Lutheran Church in West Bend, Wis. Their daughter, Marilyn, was born there. 1965, he accepted a call as Senior Pastor at St. Mark Evangelical Lutheran Church in Davenport, where the congregation grew to over 5,000 members. He received an honorary Doctorate of Divinity from Carthage in 1974. After retirement in 1986, Chris served as visitation pastor at Trinity Lutheran, Moline. Dr. Christian Meyer has married thousands of couples and continued to perform weddings, funerals, and pastoral services until just recently. He served on the Augustana College Board of Trustees for eight years and served 30 years as chaplain of the Davenport Fire Department. For many years after retiring, he and Jeanne had a fabulous time as overseas tour hosts to hundreds and traveled to all the continents of the globe (except Antarctica). Upon his retirement he served as chaplain on Holland America Cruise Line traveling to the Caribbean, South America, Central America, Europe and Hawaii. He is a member of Davenport Rotary, the Davenport Contemporary Club, the Rock Island Arsenal Gold Club and the executive board of the ILLOWA Council of the Boy Scouts of America. He is an avid golfer, hunter, fisherman and world traveler.

Surviving him is his son Robert C. (Margarita) Meyer, Eldridge, IA; Daughter Marilyn (Stephen) Shaw, Oakland, CA; 2 brothers Milton, Cissna Park, IL, and Donald H., Jacksonville, IL.

Chris was preceded in death by his wife and two brothers Kenneth & Lawrence.