Annual Event Honors Memory of David Meile

Managing Editor/Publisher

Losing a loved one is never easy. Especially if it's a parent who has lost a child or a spouse who has lost a spouse. Sitting down with the Meile family, one can tell their loss has been great. In spite of that loss, they have chosen to keep their memories and love alive while honoring the one they lost.

And it all started with a gathering of friends and family.

"It was just for friends and family in the beginning," said Marvin Meile of the annual David C. Meile Memorial Fish and Fajita Fry. "It grew in to something much larger. For awhile we stopped doing it, because it had gotten so big."

David was Marvin and Pam Meile's son.

"When David was going to college at Fort Hays State, he and Clay Scott would go fishing at Wilson Lake and Cedar Bluff. He got to where he was bringing home crappie filets. After he had done that quite a few times, we decided, 'let's have a fish fry'."

The Meile family planned the event for the Fourth of July.

"We started doing fish fries at the house," Marvin said. "We did that for I don't know how many years, but it got too big to have it there. Everybody would bring something. Mike Brewer and I would cook the fish. Everybody would bring a dish of some kind. Larry and Shirley Madsen made homemade ice cream a time or two - we had quite a party."

Pam said David loved to fish and "he was really good at it."

The event  was a favorite among friends and family alike.

"Zeke Ford - he's passed on now - he would come and say it was the social event of the year," Marvin said.

The Meile's aren't sure how many years they did the gathering for friends and family.

"We did it quite a few," Marvin said. "It just got too big to where we couldn't handle it at the house. David graduated from college in 1993. After he graduated, the fish stopped so we stopped too."

The Meile family's world shattered January 27, 2021.

"We were at David and Shan's house watching the Chiefs play the Cleveland Browns in a playoff game," Marvin explained. "The last thing David said to me was that he had to go get a money order to get a conceal carry permit."

Marvin and Pam went home, and shortly after, they heard what no parent should ever have to hear.

"We no more got home when I saw red and blue lights flashing," Marvin said. "I went to the front door and Reile was running down the street crying and screaming. I went over there and they had David in an ambulance."

David was going to do a normal household chore - take out the trash.

"He never made it outside," Marvin said. "He was gone once, but Shan gave him CPR and brought him back for a little bit. It was very unexpected."

David was gone. He was only 50 years old.

The family fish fry event would make a comeback, this time to honor David.

"When David passed away Nathan (David's brother) brought it up and Chris (his other brother) was thinking about it too - they said let's have a fish fry like what we used to," Marvin said. "They said we can take a free will donation to raise money for scholarships for kids and do it in David's name."

Dubbing it the David C. Meile Memorial Fish & Fajita Fry, it has been going strong. This year will be the fifth annual event and it has continued to be a community hit.

"I think there was probably 500-600 at the first one we had," Marvin said.

David's brother, Chris, said last year's event brought in around 700 people.

"It's been pretty consistent the past couple of years," he added.

The event has raised "probably around $20,000 after expenses, in the past four years, according to the Meile family.

"(Last year) we gave away a Polaris," Marvin said. "We purchase guns to give away in the silent auction, and a lot of people and businesses donate items for the auction."

According to Chris, last year's auction featured around 60-70 items. Some of the items are paid for and some are donated.

"There were four or five tables full of auction items," according to Pam.

Pulling the event off every year takes a lot.

"It's a lot of work," Marvin said. "But, we like to do it.. We want to honor David for all the things he did."

According to the Meiles, there are many friends who lend a helping hand.

"We have a lot of individuals - friends, David’s buddies -  it’s a process," Marvin said. "Each year we clear out the farm shop and reorganize it to set up tables and chairs.  Around 30 people show up to help facilitate that, and the day after it’s over about that many show up to help us tear down and get the shop back to farm use. We have a good group of people and they have been consistent all four years to help."

Since the event is typically planned for the Fourth of July - there are fireworks.

"David was a big fan of fireworks when he was in Boy Scouts they had a fireworks stand," Marvin said. "The city sends the people who set it off for us - they have been really gracious to do that for us. The whole event is a well oiled machine. We pretty well have food figured out."

According to Chris, David was very involved with the youth, which is why the family decided to raise funds for scholarships.

"He was pretty active with the youth in the church and was always supportive of all the youth at fair time with their livestock," Chris said.

The money raised from the annual fish fry goes to two scholarship programs.

"We have two set up through the high school," explained David's daughter, Reile. "Students can apply for it. One goes to 4-H/FFA and the other is for someone planning to attend a trade school. That can be anywhere from cosmetology to mechanic to a lineman - any type of trade school."

For the most part, the fish for the annual event is caught - just like David would have done.

"Last year, we weren't as lucky catching fish as we had been in the past," Marvin said. "A friend of ours, Donnie Jenkins from Canton, Okla. - they call him the crappie king - I called him to see if he and his wife would come and if they had any crappie to bring it. I don't know how much he brought, but he brought a lot."

They did end up purchasing a little bit of fish last year for the event.

"We bought some catfish filets and then cut them up in to nuggets," Marvin said. "We also bought some yellow perch last year - that is really good eating."

According to Marvin, the best fish to eat are Walleye, Crappie and yellow perch.

"We've been going north up to Lake of the Woods fishing," Marvin said. "We catch as many yellow perch as we want and every night when we got back from fishing we would filet out the yellow perch and eat them there at camp."

Marvin recalled a trip they made to Minnesota after David passed away.

"It’s just beautiful there," he said. "We stopped to go in to grab a sandwich and have a beer, and when we got ready to leave I told the lady I wanted a can of Coors Light. she put it in a plastic bag with some ice for us."

They went to the lake, which according to Marvin is a million and some acres.

"I told Captain Dan when he got to the middle of the lake - you can’t see shore  because of the curvature - I told him to shut the boat down. That particular day the lake was like a sheet of glass. We opened up that can of beer and we all took a drink. I said, 'David it’s water to beer and beer to water.' The little bit of beer that was left I dumped in the lake we all signed our name to the can. I have it at the house. We dedicated that fishing trip to David."

Marvin, like the rest of the Meile family, continues to mourn their loss.

"He wasn't only my son, he was my best friend," Marvin said. "We fished a lot together. He worked here (at Marvin's Farm Equipment and Repair) with me. He could pretty well run the place."

Marvin proudly talks about David's work ethic.

"I don't think five guys could do the work he did," Marvin said. "He was a hard worker. I would get to work early and he would have already been here for an hour or two. He was good at everything. He had been coming to work with me here since about the time he could walk."

David's mom, Pam, said he was an "awesome son, uncle and daddy."

His brother, Chris, said he doesn't think "there is paper big enough to write down everything about his brother.

"He was the type of guy if you have never been fishing or hunting before he would take you and teach you," Chris added. "He was smart. When it came to woodworking he could build about anything. He could weld. He had an engineering mind."

David not only was very good at and loved fishing, he also enjoyed hunting and going to the gun range.

"David was a very good shot," Marvin said. "And when we went fishing, he would be up front on the boat and have five fishing poles out. If one of them moved at all he would be right on it. I would be in the back with just two and he would turn around and say, 'dad, you have a bite.' He would be intense fishing and I was sleep fishing."

Chris says David cared about wildlife as well.

"He was all about wildlife conservation," Chris said. "He always worked close with fish and wildlife here in the state. Five of them came to his funeral. He was also all about raising pheasants and quail to turn loose on the ground."

Pam said David loved chickens and he had some ducks. Marvin said he was always thinking about a better way to do something.

"When he was 9 or 10-years-old, he overhauled a motor in a lawn mower and got it running," Marvin said. "He ended up using it to haul grain to feed his chickens."

Britton and Reile, David's daughters, said he was the "best dad", and to his wife, Shan, he was "the best husband".

Another family tradition that David loved was tailgating for K-State games.

"We have a tailgate for K-State games when we go," Marvin said. "We have season tickets. We do a lot of things in memory of David."

The family looks forward to the annual event.

"It’s a fin thing to do and brings people together who loved David," said Pam.

Marvin agrees.

"It brings people together you can visit with that you haven’t seen in a long time," he added.

Chris said there are new people each year who attend and some have even had a mini class reunion at the event.

This year's event is planned for July 5, at the Meile Family pond, 1915 S. Colorado. There will be a trap shoot, fishing all day, corn hole, silent auction, card draw, a fireworks show, dinner, and time for socializing.

From his obituary:

David grew up in Ulysses, graduating with the 1989 senior class at Ulysses High School. Following high school, he earned a degree in Industrial Technology at Fort Hays State. After graduating from Fort Hays in 1993, he returned to Ulysses.

David worked at Marvin's Farm Equipment and Repair as the general manager alongside his father, Marvin.

He married Shan Britton June 13, 1998 in Las Vegas, Nev. They have two daughters, Reile and Britton.

David loved spending time with his girls, the lights of his life!