Meredith (Mya) Stephanie Myers Goerdt Meredith was born on February 23, 1989 during a snowstorm in Williamsburg, Virginia. Full of energy, an impish smile, and a playful heart, “MerBear” excelled at playing the clarinet, gymnastics, volleyball and track. She adored her big brother Corey, and possessed the uncanny knack of getting him in trouble for her antics.
Meredith struggled in adolescence with ADD and depression. She completed high school in 2006 and then headed for south Florida, seeking her own niche. There “Mya” applied her free spirit to piercing, suspension acrobatics, and on the canvas of her beautiful skin, which accrued many tattoos, including a regal lotus crown on her forehead.
She returned home periodically to Iowa for summer family reunions. She aspired to be a welder and had begun coursework toward that end in 2016. After 30 days in the hospital, Meredith was released on September 14, clean and sober.
Elated to be free of her addiction, she planned to return to Des Moines. She joyfully received family support, evidence of her heart’s turn toward recovery. She planned to begin substance abuse and mental health treatment, return to welding school, and maybe even take up the banjo with her mom.
Meredith lost a friend to a heroin overdose in St. Pete on Sept. 18th. She had offered to take him to inpatient treatment that same day.
Broken hearted, she turned to the most dependable means she knew for treating emotional pain. Meredith died at age 29 on Wednesday, September 19 in Saint Petersburg, FL, of a heroin overdose. She is survived by her mother, Susan Myers, father, John Goerdt (both of Des Moines, IA), brothers Corey (Atlanta, GA) and Andrey (Des Moines, IA), and a large extended family.
A memorial service will be held at the Des Moines Valley Friends Meeting House, 4211 Grand Ave. , Des Moines, IA 50213 on Saturday, October 27, 2018 at 2:00 p.m. Friends are encouraged to bring photographs, mementos and especially stories from the heart of how Meredith touched our lives. Friends are also encouraged to join the family in fighting the ignorance, stigma, and systemic barriers to recovery faced by lovely, vibrant and unique young men and women like Meredith.
In lieu of flowers, gifts may be made to Shatterproof by going to Meredith’s memorial page at www. shatterproof.org/memorial/meredith-mya-goerdt or mailed to: 101 Merritt 7 Corporate Park, 1st Floor, Norwalk, CT 06851, 501(c)(3) Tax ID Number: 45-4619712 We will be forever grateful to our friends and family for the love, compassion, mercy, and support that you have shown Meredith and us. We are especially touched by our faith community of Friends who have enveloped us in the light of Love both spiritual and practical through this painful loss.
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