Colonel (Retired) John Franklin Meehan, Iii

Colonel (Retired) John Franklin Meehan, III, passed away on Tuesday, January 14, 2020 at his home in Carlisle, PA. Born in Germantown, PA, on March 12, 1940, to the late Major John Franklin Meehan, Jr. and Frances LeGore Feiser, Frank spent his childhood in Woodsboro, MD, and graduated from Frederick High School. He is predeceased by a sister, Joanne Arnold Godfrey, brother Captain Richard W. Meehan, and stepfather, W. Cash Smith.
Frank graduated from West Point Military Academy in 1962, married his high-school sweetheart, and began his active career as an infantry officer of the U.S. Army. He served in Korea and two tours in Vietnam, then earned an MA in political science and Russian/East European history from the University of Colorado. As a Foreign Area Specialist in Russian, Frank spent four years in West Berlin as a member of the U.S. Military Liaison Mission (MLM) based in Potsdam, East Germany. He later served as the head of the political-military division of the Army at the Pentagon and on the faculty of the U.S. Army War College in Carlisle. He retired from the Army in 1987.
His fluent Russian and extensive experience in Eastern Europe led to a second career in business. He joined Carlisle SynTec Systems and directed a joint venture based in Moscow, where he lived for a time. After SynTec, Frank consulted for several years before becoming the associate dean for the Graduate School of Public and International Affairs at the University of Pittsburgh, launching his third career, in academia. He worked for the Pennsylvania Department of Education until 2004, serving as the Deputy Secretary of Education, Office of Postsecondary and Higher Education. He then taught as an adjunct professor for several colleges, primarily on topics in economics and finance.
Frank was a lifelong outdoorsman, and counted many of his happiest hours in the woods. He was a Freemason and a Son of the American Revolution. In recent years he volunteered at the Military History Institute in the foreign language archive, and was active in his church and in the Carlisle community.
Frank’s life was a full one, and he was a man of wide curiosity, deep thinking, and warm humor. Although his career and interests kept him engaged on the world stage, Frank was a devoted family man. He is survived by his wife of 57 years, Susan Eyster Meehan, son John F. Meehan, daughter Amanda C. Meehan, and brother Webster C. Smith.
Memorial services will be held at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday, January 25, 2020 at the First Presbyterian Church, 2A North Hanover Street Carlisle, PA 17013 with Rev. Anthony D. Lorenz officiating. Burial will be private and held at the convenience of the family. A visitation will be held from 10:00 a.m. until the time of the service on Saturday at the church.
Funeral arrangements have been entrusted to the Hoffman Funeral Home and Crematory, 2020 West Trindle Road Carlisle, PA 17013.
In lieu of flowers, memorial donations can be made to the U.S. Army Heritage and Education Center in Carlisle.
“And when our work is done, our course on earth is run, may it be said, ‘Well done; be thou at peace.’” - P.S. Reinecke