Harold E. Meadows Jr.

     Harold E. Meadows, Jr. of Pipestem, born March 25, 1961, died on January 11, 2023, after a long battle with leukemia.

     He is preceded in death by his father, Harold E. Meadows, Sr., and his grandparents, Thomas and Christine Lowry.

     He is survived by his wife of 24 years, Diane Meadows; his mother, Joyce Hockenberry; his sister Carolyn Light and husband, Philip; his brothers-in-law, Butch Mansfield and wife, Teresa, Rocky Mansfield and wife, Tammy, Rusty Mansfield and wife, Amy, and Tommy Mansfield and wife, Crystal; his nephews, Seth Light and wife, Rachel, Sam Light, and wife, Beth, his niece Sara Light;

his cousin Cheryl Lowry Kula and husband Ted, his special cousins who called him Uncle Harold, Lieschen and Lillian Kula, and close friends of the family, Beauford and Nancy Allen. He is also survived by and missed by a great number of cousins, aunts, uncles, fellow firefighters, and a multitude of friends.

     Harold graduated Hinton High School in 1979 and spent several early years driving big rig moving vans across the United States. He had visited all but 8 states of the continental U.S. Harold then worked for 32 years in the maintenance department of Pipestem Resort State Park, retiring when he was Maintenance Supervisor. He was a volunteer firefighter for the Pipestem Volunteer Fire Department for 34 years, acting as Assistant Fire Chief as well as Treasurer, plus treasurer for the Summers County Fire Fighter Association, and member of the Pipestem Resort State Park Foundation. Harold had a deep love for all things outdoors, including hunting, fishing, and working through a list to visit each of the WV state parks on vacations with Diane. Whether it was a state park, a national park, the beach, or his own house, one of Harold’s favorite things to do was to sit on the porch with a cup of coffee and admire all that God and Mother Nature had decided to show off on that day. He loved pictures of animals and extraordinary vistas. He never met a cat or kitten he didn’t love and grew up with a hound or two always following him about the Lowry family farm. Outgoing and easygoing, he would be happy to chat about anything or to tempt some unlucky soul into

trying something spicy to eat. While he liked to tease people, he was also known for his hugs. He was a voracious reader of military novels, often going through stacks of books faster than he could get them. In recent years, he took up beekeeping, studying books about them, subscribing to bee journals, and with dedication, inspecting the hives week after week and checking on the queens. He loved being a patriotic American, loved living in West Virginia, loved exploring the nooks and

crannies of the woods, the streams, and rivers, and most of all, he loved being a daily part of his family’s life. His family, his friends will miss his presence on the farm and in this community. We would like to thank everyone for their constant good wishes, hopes, and prayers in these last few months.

     Visitation will be on Tuesday, January 17, 2023 from 6 to 8pm at the Ronald Meadows Funeral Parlors Chapel. Services will be on Wednesday, January 18, 2023 at 11am, with burial to immediately follow at the Huffman Cemetery in Buck. To celebrate his work and love of the fire department, fire trucks will be stationed at the intersection of Beech Run and the bypass. Pallbearers will be Seth Light, Sam Light, Charlie Lowry, Ted Kula, Chris Bennett, and Cody Keaton. Honorary pallbearers will be Butch Mansfield, Rocky Mansfield, Rusty Mansfield, Tommy Mansfield, Phillip Light, Dayton Lowry, and fellow firefighters of the Pipestem Volunteer Fire Department.