Lt. Joseph (Joe) R. Meeks, 86, of Leonardtown MD, died August 30, 2012 at St. Mary's Nursing Center after a long battle with Alzheimer's. Born March 11, 1926, in Jamaica, New York he was the son of the late Robert E. Meeks and Caroline Kohr and was the elder brother to the late Alice Schmidt.

Joe is survived by his wife Dorothy (Dot) A.Meeks of Leonardtown, MD whom he married on August 28, 1948 in Atlantic City, NJ. and by his two children and son-in-law: Eileen T. Meeks of Falls Church, VA, Shirley A. Poehnelt of Reston, VA and Dean Poehnelt of Reston, VA.

Joe joined the Navy in July of 1943 during World War II, served in Vietnam, and retired in 1971. He loved weather forecasting and worked in a number of positions in the meteorological and oceanographic offices including weather forecaster and electronic technician. He was commissioned as an officer in 1960 and retired as a Lieutenant. While in the Navy he served at a number of duty stations spanning from Yokosuka Japan to Port Lyautey, Kenitra, Morocco and in the states from San Diego, CA to Quonset Point, RI. After he retired from the Navy, Joe worked at Oceanographic Office at Patuxent Naval Air Station until 1993.

The family will receive friends on Friday, September 7, 2012 from 9:30AM to 10:30AM in Holy Face Catholic Church, Great Mills, MD. A Mass of Christian burial will be celebrated at 10:30AM with Father Joseph Calis officiating. Interment will follow in the church cemetery. Serving as pallbearers will be Steve Vetter, Brian Vetter, Dean Poehnelt, and "George" Dunn.

In Lieu of flowers contributions may be made to the USO www.uso.org, St Mary's Nursing Center 21585 Peabody Street, Leonardtown, MD 20650, Alzheimer's Foundation of America 513 E. Charles Street P.O. Box 1889 La Plata, MD 20646.

Arrangements provided by Mattingley-Gardiner Funeral Home, Leonardtown, MD.