Funeral services for 92-year old Evelyn Meter are Monday, August 2, 2021, at 10:00 at the Gering Methodist Church with Pastor Seth Leypoldt officiating.
Interment will follow at West Lawn Cemetery in Gering.
Visitation will be Sunday from 4-6:00 at Bridgman Funeral Home in Scottsbluff.
The family respectfully requests that in lieu of any flowers, memorials in Evelyn’s honor be made in care of the Gering Methodis Church or to Regional West Hospice.
Online condolences may be made by viewing Evelyn’s memorial page at www.bridgmanfuneralhome.com.
Bridgman Funeral Home in Scottsbluff is entrusted with arrangements.
Evelyn Mae (Richter) Meter was born at home in Bayard on December 28, 1928, the second of 7 births to Charles and Emma (McDaniel) Richter. She went to be with the Lord on July 28, 2021.
Material things were scarce growing up, but the love was plentiful. As a little girl, Evelyn had two dresses to wear, both made out of flour sacks. Her family lived in many different houses in Bayard, and even took in a Civil War veteran whom they called “Wootsie” to help make ends meet.
She excelled in school and enjoyed diagramming sentences and penmanship exercises, which resulted in her beautiful, tiny handwriting as an adult. In high school, she pushed herself during her senior year and became Pep Club president, football queen, and Valedictorian.
As a child, Evelyn and her siblings went to Sunday School at the Church of Christ every Sunday where they had some wonderful, dedicated Sunday School teachers.
Evelyn eventually started attending church and a young teenager went forward at a revival meeting, committed herself to Jesus, and was baptized that same day. The song that she went forward on was “Just As I Am.”
During high school, Evelyn worked at Hughes Drug Store behind the ice cream counter making ice cream delights such as the tin roof sundae. She also worked at the Palm Theater selling popcorn and ushering.
This was where she met her future husband and love of her life, Henry Meter. He attended school in Minatare, but his family shopped in Bayard and he attended movies there. He really liked popcorn.
Henry and Evelyn were married at Hope Congregational Church on November 26, 1950. After the wedding and reception, they packed up as many of their gifts as they could, including an ironing board, into their 1939 black Ford coupe and drove to Chadron, where Henry was enrolled at Chadron State College.
They lived in this “Little House in the Alley” where the davenport made out for their bed and the tiny kitchen had a table that folded up into the wall using folding chairs to sit on. Evelyn worked at the Ad-Visor, a free advertising publication distributed to all the residents of Chadron.
Their first son, Jerry, was born while they were living in Chadron. After graduating, Henry accepted a teaching position in Gering, NE. Three more children were born there: David, Mick, and Denise.
When the children started school, Evelyn worked as a secretary at Davis Realty and then part time at the First United Methodist Church in Gering. She was involved in PEO serving one year as president.
After both Henry and Evelyn retired, they traveled to many places including trips to Alaska, Hawaii, New England to see the fall colors, Florida, and Branson. Her favorite trip was a river boat cruise up the Mississippi River because of all the Civil War history. They also were able to travel to see many of their grandchildren’s activities.
Evelyn’s touch is everywhere in their home. When she worked at Davis Realty, she used the resources to design their home that they built in 1983. She stained and finished all the woodwork inside the house. The walls are decorated with her cross stitch, the beds with her quilts and afghans, and the windows with her curtains.
One of the most prized pieces of her artwork is the oil painting that she did of the barn from the farm where Henry grew up. In her later years, Evelyn started losing her eyesight and by 2017, she was completely blind.
She longed for the day to be with her Savior and see Him face to face, so she is more alive today than she was on July 28 – finally in the presence of Jesus. Thank you Jesus for the gift of eternal life!
Evelyn was preceded in death by her parents, her brothers Chuck, John, and Donald; her sisters Ann Maser and Donna Schlaepfer; brothers-in-law Rudy Maser, William Kisler, Johnny Schlaepfer, Riney Meter, George Miller, George Harimon, Wes Carter, Fred Bangert, Bob Langhofer, and Clarence Robertus; sisters-in-law Velma Richter, Ruth Meter, Marie Miller, Elsie Harimon, Lydia Bangert, Emma Meter, Betty Meter, and Fran Meter; and great granddaughter Samantha Grace Knaub.
Evelyn is survived by her loving husband, Henry Meter, son Jerry (Chuck Ford) of Portland, OR; son David (Cindy) of Great Bend, KS, and their son, Brent of Kansas City, KS; son Mick (Carolyn) of Lincoln, NE and their children Austin (Tiffany) of Omaha, NE, and Cameron (Kylie) and twins Allie and Elena of Lincoln, NE, and Nate (Paige) and child Benson of Lincoln, NE; daughter Denise (Bob) Knaub of Douglas, WY and their children Mitch and children Gabriel and Mathias of Grimes, IA, Devin (Alexandra) and children Katie and twins David and Lincoln of West Des Moines, IA, and Elise (Michael Peters) of Chicago, IL; sister Mary Joan Kisler; brothers-in-law Robert Meter, Ted Meter, Jerry Rupp, and Dick Meter; sisters-in-law Bonnie Richter, Minnie Carter, Pauline Langhofer, Betty Rupp, and Darlene Robertus; and numerous nieces and nephews.