Peter H. Meyer, 65, of Winchester, VA, died February 20, 2017, at his residence.
Mr. Meyer was originally born in Chemnitz, Germany, in 1951, the son of the late Helmut Erich Meyer and Klara Elizabeth Marianne Richter-Meyer.
He traveled to this country in 1986 and landed in Mesa, AZ to visit family for a short time but ended up loving the area and decided to remain in the United States. He worked for two to three years as a construction helper for Husted Construction in East Mesa and then worked as a cabinet installer for Rylan Homes. Peter and his sister, Rosida, became U.S. citizens on February 2, 1996, during the Bill Clinton era and eventually established his own business called Sunrise Cabinets. In 1993-2003, Peter proudly chose a career as a master carpenter and cabinet maker, often building unique kitchen and garage cabinets. He was an entrepreneur with a special gift. He created a very successful business designing and installing custom garage cabinets and everybody who saw his work placed an order to have their Garage Cabinets customized anyway they wanted it. Each jobs was unique and the finished job was absolutely stunning work that had never been seen before in Mesa Arizona. He received so many compliments as well as referrals and soon was able to transition his shop which started in a storage building to a larger building and shortly thereafter opened a storefront shop offering beautiful Customized Garage Cabinets. Peter also used his God given talents as a master fixer for his friends and family when their home or business needed a makeover.
In 2004, Peter joined FEMA as a Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) member. He was deployed to Atlanta, GA in support of Hurricane Frances which swept the FL coastline.
That following year, Peter became a member of the United States Coast Guard Auxiliary and offered his volunteer support to encourage boating safety, in and throughout Mesa Arizona.
In 2006, Peter accepted a permanent position as a FEMA Housing Inspector at the Virginia National Processing Service Center (VA NPSC) in Winchester, VA and later transitioned to the Quality Surveillance team as a Quality Program Specialist. He diligently carried out his duties until his demise in 2017. Peter was dedicated to his job and to the FEMA mission of helping people recover after a disaster.
He transferred his Auxiliary membership to support boating safety in Virginia. He was a member of Flotilla 54-25-12 that entire time. Later in life, Peter received the Certificate of Appreciation Award for serving as an USCG Auxiliary Member for more than 10 years of dedicated service in the Washington, DC area.
Mr. Meyer married Valerie J. Rountree on November 23, 2015 in Winchester, VA.
Along with his wife, Mr. Meyer is survived by his two sisters, Rosida Husted (Husband Jim, an Army Veteran) and their children , Daniel (wife Angie and his Children Janes, Megan and Jordan) and Kathryn (Her children, River, Logan, Kaden and Deegan) and Eva Stewart (Husband Douglas, a Retired Army Veteran) and their children (Bianca and Alf) ; his first wife of twelve years and dear friend, Joan Marie Meyer, as well as her children, Joy Bauer and Joe Phillips (wife Gail) and grandchildren Bobby, Nick, Emily, Troy and Trent who respected him, admired and adored Peter. And he loved them just the same. Peter was deeply admired by friends and neighbors. In his spare time he collected stamps from around the world and loved to watch the DIY Network channel on TV, played solitaire and enjoyed a good action movie.
The family will receive friends on Friday, March 3, 2017, at Omps Funeral Home, South Chapel, from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. Family and friends will be invited to share memories at 7:00 p.m. As Peter would want, refreshments will be served during the visitation.
For people who cannot be present at Peter’s service, please contact Omps Funeral Home, South Chapel. We will do webcasting of the visitation/service and will be happy to provide the link for you to view the visitation/service at a time best for you.
Peter always enjoyed playing the lottery…taking that chance on winning the big jackpot. In Peter’s memory, purchase a Virginia lottery ticket for one of two reasons. The first, a portion of every bought ticket supports the Virginia Lottery Literary Fund which is used solely for educational purposes, such as upgrading technology in Virginia schools and teacher retirement funding and second, who knows…maybe you will be the lucky 64 million dollar winner in Megamillions or the 403 million dollar winner on the Powerball. Either way, someone is sure to benefit from your generosity.