Mr. Ardo Meyer was born in eastern Nebraska to a large family with 10 brothers and sisters. He is very thankful for his parents who held the family together as they all experienced the Great Depression, the Dust Bowl, World War II, and a grasshopper plague. His mother guided her over-active child to channel his energy into his studies. Mr. Meyer earned a grant to study for a year at George Washington University. He completed the rest of his university education by working days and studying at night. He joined the Air Force in 1953 and underwent training as a Navigator Bombardier on the world’s first jet bomber, the B-45. Although proud to fly the B-45 he is thankful he never had to drop any bombs.
Although he out his studies in mathematics, he soon switched to physics. After the Air Force he used his studies to become a geophysicist. He traveled to Alaska and to the North Pole as part of the International Geophysics Year, and later as part of a team of international scientists to the South Pole.
Mr. Myer met his wife Kinky when they were neighbors living in Arlington, Virginia. They got married April 15, 1962, just two weeks after he returned from The South Pole. He truly feels marriage was the greatest scientific discovery he ever made. Mr. and Mrs. Meyer moved to Heatherwood Independent and Assisted Living Community in 2003. He reflects upon and shares his extraordinary experiences with residents and visitors at Heatherwood in monthly sessions called “Ardo Speaks.”
Heatherwood Independent and Assisted Living Community, Burke