Oct. 12--Fred P. Meeske Jr. co-owned Meeske's Market, a grocery store that operated in downtown Mount Prospect for decades.
"He was good with customers, no doubt about it," said Fred Haas, whose father was a longtime store employee.
Meeske, 87, died of complications from prostate cancer Aug. 26 at Alden Poplar Creek Rehabilitation and Health Care Center in Hoffman Estates, said his daughter Patti Haunsz.
Born in Mount Prospect, Meeske was a descendant of the Busse family, which helped to found the town. In 1925, Meeske's father, Fred P. Meeske Sr., opened the grocery store in rented space at Main and Busse streets in downtown Mount Prospect.
Meeske Jr. attended Arlington High School in Arlington Heights. Right after high school, he and his brother, Earl, joined their father in running the store. He served in the Army from 1946 until 1947 and was stationed at Ft. Bragg, N.C.
Meeske's Market was most known for its meat selection, which Meeske personally oversaw. The store's butcher shop was a nod to the German roots of the Busse and Meeske families and other settlers who had founded Mount Prospect.
"They had the best meats in the area," said Haas of Mt. Prospect. "And he learned the trade by experience."
After Meeske's father died in 1970, Meeske and his brother continued operating the grocery. In 1973, Meeske and his brother sold the grocery to its accountant, who continued to operate it.
"The (grocery) chains were coming (to Mount Prospect) and you could see the handwriting on the wall, and it was going to be difficult to compete against the chains," Haunsz said.
After the sale, Meeske took a job with the U.S. Postal Service, first as a letter carrier in Mount Prospect and later in the postal service's employee assistance program, counseling employees who were suffering substance abuse issues. A recovering alcoholic himself who was sober for the final 49 years of his life, Meeske was gratified to be able to help others, his daughter said.
Meanwhile, Meeske's Market closed in 1984, and a bakery later moved into its space. The building suffered major damage from a fire in February 2014.
Meeske retired from the postal service around 1988. During retirement, he spent time with his granddaughters and friends, fishing -- particularly in Wisconsin -- and serving as a minister for people in need at Messiah Lutheran Church in Wauconda, Haunsz said.
He also volunteered at alcohol rehabilitation programs, first at the now-shuttered Forest Hospital in Des Plaines and then at Lutheran General Hospital in Park Ridge, she said.
In addition to his daughter and brother, Meeske also is survived by his wife of 62 years, Gladys; another daughter, Julie; and four granddaughters.
Services were held.
Bob Goldsborough is a freelance reporter.
