Meade Walton Allred was born on June 15, 1928 in Monticello, Utah. He was one of eight children born to Wilson Horace Allred and Frances Ila Walton. Meade died on November 7, 2018 in Orem, Utah, of cause’s incident to his age.
Meade attended Pershing County High School in Lovelock, Nevada, and dropped out his senior year to join the Marine Corps. He served from 1946-1949 and spent significant time in China, among other places, operating heavy equipment.
After he was discharged he returned to Lovelock, which became a second home on and off for the next 15 years.
Meade became engaged to Patricia Jeanette Sheppard in Lovelock and they were married on May 13, 1950 in Elko, Nevada. They eloped after a two day engagement! Bess, Pat’s mother, gave them a rug for their “some day” kitchen, and with that as all the loot they received by way of wedding presents, they proceeded to launch a marriage that lasted 66 years.
Not bad for a quiet young man from southern Utah and a fierce red-headed young woman hailing from Unionville, Nevada.
Meade and Pat had three children: Keith, Kirk, and Jessie, who were born in 1951, 1952, and 1953, respectively. During the first 15 years of their marriage, the family lived in Tungsten for 5 years and then alternated between Lovelock and Winnemucca for the next 10 years.
In 1960 Meade and Pat settled in Winnemucca and lived in the same house for the next 58 years.
Meade, in conjunction with a brother-in-law and his father-in-law, built the family home. During that first year, Meade & Pat planted a blue spruce that has never stopped growing.
That tree is now the largest evergreen in Winnemucca and is a beautiful landmark at the corner of Mizpah and McArthur Avenue.
Besides having an affinity for raising trees, Meade developed a remarkable green thumb!
His yard became almost an oasis in the desert in terms of the number and variety of roses that he nurtured over a period of forty plus years. A scripture in the Old Testament makes reference to a time when the desert shall blossom as a rose. As a master gardener, Meade demonstrated that with unfailing love and devotion it is possible to transform that which is barren into that which flourishes. He had a similar gift within his family and the community.
Over the years Meade and Pat came to have nine grandchildren. Those grandchildren went on to provide twenty-seven great grandchildren. While Meade was a man of few words, he lived in such a way as to inspire a deep devotion to him within his children and grandchildren. None of his descendants would attempt to portray Meade as without fault, but each came to recognize an inner goodness that captured their hearts.
In 1998, at age 70, Meade retired, not because he wanted to but because he believed that it was required. He spent the last twenty years finding ways to keep busy. Much of the time that meant carrying out voluntary service projects for neighbors and other members of the Winnemucca community. It seemed that Meade never met an odd job that he didn’t like.
He was climbing ladders onto roofs at age 85 while Pat yelled at him to get down before he fell and broke his neck!
Fortunately for his children, grandchildren, and various friends and neighbors that ‘dive’ never happened, and he was also able to spend time playing with and quietly visiting with them. In his own way he was as devoted to cultivating relationships as he was to helping flowers thrive in the Nevada desert.
Meade, as is true for all good hearted people, touched the lives of many over the course of his life. His last six months were spent in an assisted-living center in Orem, Utah.
During that time his children and some of his grandchildren were able to spend time with him reminiscing about the different periods of his life.
Meade recognized that he had lived a full life and was one who understood that while he had never been rich in monetary terms he was wealthy in terms of relationships. He often noted that he wanted to be with Pat, his sweetheart of 66 years.
His children and grandchildren wish to thank all those friends and others who enriched Meade’s life and reached out to him over the past six months. We are confident that his fondest wish has come true and that he is now with Pat and other members of his extended family that went before him in death.
Services will be held at the LDS Stake Center in Winnemucca on November 17, 2018. Viewing at 10:00, service at 11:00, with a graveside dedication to follow at the Winnemucca Cemetery.
