Decorated veteran, longtime dentist
Ernest Meharra knew how to live life with gusto.
A decorated veteran of the Vietnam War and longtime dentist in Turtle Creek, Mr. Meharra packed up his life in Forest Hills when he retired four years ago and moved to Texas to be closer to his three children and his grandchildren.
“When he came to Texas, he jumped in with both feet,” said his daughter Lynda Willingham, of Prosper, Texas, who said her dad audited classes at a local community college in Texas history and politics and even began learning other languages. “He just fully embraced it.”
Mr. Meharra, 75, died Jan. 7 in his sleep at his home in McKinney, Texas.
He was born in Liberty and graduated from McKeesport Senior High School in 1961 before earning a bachelor’s degree in biology from Saint Vincent College in 1965.
He went on to the University of Pittsburgh School of Dental Medicine, where he graduated in 1969 before enlisting in the U.S. Navy.
Mr. Meharra served in Vietnam at a fire support base and in a dental unit. In 1971, he was transferred to a submarine base in Connecticut, then to a dental clinic at the Washington Navy Yard.
In 1974, Mr. Meharra graduated from the Bethesda Naval Graduate School at George Washington University with a master’s degree in oral biology. He also headed the dental department on the USS Guadalcanal from 1976-1977 before he joined the Naval Reserves.
Mr. Meharra earned the rank of captain and continued serving in the Reserve until 1990. He was recognized with the Navy Achievement Medal, the Navy Commendation Medal for valor and nine other service ribbons.
“He loved the Navy and made lifelong friends,” Ms. Willingham said.
In 1978, Mr. Meharra met Eileen Kunf at the bank in McKeesport where she worked. The couple married on May 26, 1980, in Cleveland.
Mr. Meharra maintained his dental practice from 1977 until his retirement in 2015.
He had a passion for history, especially the Civil War, Ms. Willingham said.
“He made multiple trips to Gettysburg,” where her father performed as a war reenactor, his daughter said. “He would travel there and camp overnight.”
He also was an avid reader who donated thousands of books to local libraries, she said.
Since moving to Texas, her father had become interested in learning about the Alamo, she said.
Over the years, his children relocated to Texas to be closer to each other.
“We moved to Texas around 2000, and then my brother and sister followed,” Ms. Willingham said. “So all three kids ended up here.”
Her father was a lifelong learner who took classes in everything from movie history to Italian in recent years, Ms. Willingham said.
He and his 15-year-old grandson even began telling jokes in German to help each other learn the language, she said.
Ms. Willingham said she is grateful that her father got to spend one last Christmas with his family, especially enjoying their annual traditions.
“It was the perfect Christmas,” she said. “I’m just thankful that we were all together.”
Nothing was more important to her father than his family, his daughter said.
“He was a dad who went to all of the basketball games and even after he retired, he came to soccer games and other events for his grandchildren,” she said. “His focus was his kids and grandkids for sure.”
One of the most valuable lessons her father taught her was to embrace life, Ms. Willingham said.
“You’d ask him to do something — anything — and he’d say yes, even if it wasn’t his cup of tea,” she recalled. “He taught us to be open to everything.”
Along with his daughter and his wife, Mr. Meharra is survived by another daughter, Kristen Meharra of Wichita Falls, Texas; a son, Phillip Meharra of Addison, Texas; a sister, Eileen Meharra Bishop of St. Louis; a brother, Michael Meharra of North Versailles; and three grandsons. He was preceded in death by a sister, Marion Meharra Filotei.
Memorials may be made in Mr. Meharra’s honor to the Students First Fund at Saint Vincent College at: https://ssl.charityweb.net/ stvincent/ or by calling 724454-1800.