In Memoriam

MICHAEL DAVID MEEKER

June 13, 1947 – January 31, 2023

Michael David Meeker (“Mike”) passed away unexpectedly on January 31, 2023, at the age of 76.  Mike was born on June 13, 1947, in Asheville, North Carolina, to Paul and Edna Meeker.  Mike was their only child and grew up in a home of immense love and high expectations.  His father was a successful entrepreneur and his mother was a constant source of encouragement for her son, instilling in him the need for appropriate conduct and accountability.

As a small child, Mike grew up in the back room of his parents’ grocery store until they purchased a modest home in front of the Asheville Boarding School.  A neighbor, who was a member of the faculty of the school, noticed how bright and capable young Mike was and offered to provide him with a scholarship at the prestigious school.  Mike was a very shy and introverted student, but he excelled in his academics and was admitted to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill where he earned both a Bachelors and Juris Doctor degree.  While at UNC, he pledged and was a lifelong brother of Delta Upsilon Fraternity.  Passionate about his alma mater, Mike was a true Tarheel and great representative of the University.  There he cultivated a network of lifelong friends whom he met year after year for football games back on the UNC campus.  He was such an avid Carolina basketball fan that he would record the games only to watch if he knew the Tarheels had won the game.

After graduation from law school, Mike started a family and moved to Greensboro for a job opportunity at the firm of Brooks, Pierce, McLendon, Humphrey & Leonard.  The focus of his practice was on construction law and complex commercial litigation.  He practiced law with the same firm for his entire career as an equity partner before becoming of counsel.  Mike won a number of $1+ million judgments and arbitration awards throughout the Southeast, including the largest monetary judgment ever awarded and paid in a North Carolina construction case.  He was recognized by his peers multiple times for inclusion in Business North Carolina’s “Legal Elite” (2005, 2006, 2009, and 2011).  He continued his 46-ear successful career until 2019, when he decided to retire to focus on the things he enjoyed most in life including cooking, travelling, photography and spending time with his family.  He divided his time between Greensboro and a mountain home in Roaring Gap, North Carolina, that he masterfully renovated. 

Mike will be greatly cherished and missed by his family and friends.  He is survived by his wife, Connie Meeker of Greensboro; sons, Michael A. Meeker (Raquel) and Mark C. Meeker (Emily) of Charlotte; grandchildren Aidan, Hudson, Gavin, Hunter, and Hayden; stepdaughter, Lauren Ritch of Raleigh; cousin, Fay Odum (Everette) of Savannah, Georgia; and numerous other cousins in the Asheville area and elsewhere.