Henry Myers' Obituary
HENRY DOW ?HANK? MYERS Henry Dow ?Hank? Myers passed away on August 10, 2011, at the age of sixty-three years, in the Los Angeles Veterans Hospital, from lung and lymph cancers. He was born October 18, 1947, in Nebo, Missouri, to Hartley and Isabell (Lawson) Myers, the seventh and last child of that union. During his childhood years, the family lived in different areas of Missouri and Iowa, eventually moving back to Missouri where Hank completed his education. After graduating high school in Lebanon, Missouri, he attended college at Pittsburg State in Pittsburg, Kansas, majoring in Music Education for which he received his degree. He was drafted into military service during the Viet Nam War and served in the U.S. Navy from November 9, 1970, through November 4, 1974. During his years of duty, he served aboard the U.S.S. Kittyhawk, which cruised off the coast of Bahrain and various other areas of conflict. After being awarded an Honorary Discharge, he moved to the West Coast, arriving in the Seattle, Washington, area, where he soon learned there were no positions available in the Music Education field at that time. He began making ?Lemons out of lemonade? by learning to do floral arrangements, ice carving, culinary arts, and other skills, in all of which he excelled. Through his knowledge and natural talents for all of the aforementioned, he earned a good living for himself and was able to meet many influential people who praised him for his abilities to accomplish all they asked of him. He also served as a chef on different oil rigs off the coast of California. Hank eventually wound up in Oxnard, California, where he became a real estate agent and remained in that position for several years and up until the economy took a downturn and real estate was no longer moving well enough for him to continue. He wrote and published a book in 2007, about the real estate business, and it continues to sell at a rather steady rate. He retired in 2009. During his retirement, he enjoyed his passion for crossword puzzles, doing as many as three or four every morning, as he sipped his coffee and took his time to wake up, before getting started on his daily chores. His family and friends will always remember Hank for his love of music, beautiful flowers and plants, and anything joyful. As a small child, he was one of the kindest, most soft-spoken, most caring individuals we knew. As an adult he had the ability to make anyone feel comfortable, and one of his favorite ways to do that was to create delicious meals, which we considered ?comfort food?, that good old down-home Southern cooking. He was a wonderfully creative chef, but his creativity carried over into many fields. Hank was preceded in death by his parents; and two brothers, Don R. and Emmett Myers. Hank is survived by his four siblings, Suzy Beaty, and her husband, Bob, of Thousand Oaks, California, Bill Myers, of Omaha, Nebraska, Phyllis Miller, and her husband, Jerry, of Whidbey Island, Washington, and Geri Lowther, of Oxnard Shores, California; one sister-in-law, Barbara Myers, of Lone Jack, Missouri; seven nieces and nephews; and one grand-niece, and one grand-nephew. He also leaves behind many good friends and extended family members whom he held close to his heart. He will be missed by all who knew and loved him.
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