Roger K. Kenneth Meland

Meland, Roger 84, of Merrifield, passed peacefully on June 29. Roger was born on May 5, 1940. He is survived by daughters Robin (Dave) Savageau and Heidi Meland, grandsons Zack Meland, Adam and Ben Savageau, niece and childhood friend Evonne Kirchenwitz, and several other nieces and nephews. Roger grew up in south Minneapolis, spending his childhood summers on a farm in Cylon, WI. He got his first job at age 12 by hanging around a service station in Minneapolis on Portland Avenue South. From there his mechanical skills along with a drive, passion and perfection led him to fixing up his first car at age 14. He quickly made a career building high performance engines. He was known for building and racing Formula cars at Brainerd Int'l Raceway & elsewhere. Roger joined the Army on his 18th birthday, in 1958. He served for 4 years as a specialized mechanic. In 1962, he returned to Long Lake / Stubbs Bay to live with his mother in a one bedroom cabin. It was there that he met his neighbor-girl, Elizabeth Packard, 4 doors down. He married her and they raised two daughters in Mound.

In his 8 and a half decades he wore many hats (literally and figuratively) from Formula Ford race car driver to dedicated Girl Scout leader. He spent endless hours working in his machine shop and woodshop teaching kids how to bring their own ideas to life. He did this while weaving very detailed stories of his life's triumphs and challenges into expert tutorials on the why behind just about everything under the sun. He was always asking "Are you writing this stuff down? it's important you learn this" He showed his daughters and their friends there wasn't anything girls couldn't do. Such as race cars, properly use all the tools in the woodshop, build their own shortwave radio, put in their own hardwood floor, change their own oil, fix their own furnace, camp and cook in the woods, how to 'properly corner' in a mustang - and that it is important they challenge others who underestimated them. He taught kids that they can indeed learn and do hard things. With his own life's examples, he taught how to beat odds, how to help everyone that asks, and how to keep working until you get the result you wanted - which really paid off when his daughters' goal was get an A+ in shop class. Roger was a gifted engineer. He had an 8th grade education, yet taught himself how to invent, build and improve almost anything mechanical. If Roger didn't have a tool to do what he wanted, he'd invent one. He could have written a detailed book on how anything worked. Much of his knowledge and skills will remain a legacy in his three lucky grandsons. Roger loved music. He never went a moment without his stereo system playing or headphones on. He owned hundreds of reel-to-reel, 8-tracks, vinyls, cassettes, CDs and his iTunes library required an external hard-drive. At 84, his current playlist included The Ventures, Jimi Hendrix, Johnny Cash & old school country, ABBA, Dolly Parton, Fleetwood Mac, Led Zeppelin, Mavis Staples and even some old Disco hits. He played guitar and inspired his brother-in-law Russell Packard to become a musician and teacher. He taught his grandsons guitar and that they should pick up their own instruments and said: Just play what you love, no matter what that is.

Later in life, he moved to the woods in northern MN with his long-time partner, Susan Hobbs. He then built his own house and engineered a self-sustaining power grid. He returned to woodworking and machining intricate steam engines. He kept himself physically active making his own building materials with his sawmill. He kept his mind sharp by designing and building complex miniature engines. He loved all critters, especially his cats Willow and Spencer. He loved the woods passionately, it was where he found the most peace. He will be missed by those he loved, those he mentored, and those who need answers on how to fix things.Celebration of Life August 18th, 12:30- 3:30 Pm with program at 1:00 PM at Rettinger Funeral Home, Long Lake. In lieu of flowers, memorials can be directed to the International Wolf Center in Ely, MN via http://wolf.org

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