Robert Henry Meyer ’42

Robert Henry Meyer, 84, died peacefully at home on Nov. 8, 2005. He was born Jan. 7, 1921, in Middletown, CT, the son of Col. Leo Julius Meyer and Dorothy Ellen Meyer, nee Harris. He attended Wilbraham Academy in Massachusetts and graduated from Wesleyan University in 1942.

Due to his moral abhorrence of war, Bob chose to be a conscientious objector. During World War II he performed alternative service as a hepatitis volunteer in Philadelphia and on irrigation projects in North Dakota.

With his wife and 3 children, Bob spent his professional life overseas working for the American relief organization, CARE, and subsequently for the United Nations World Food Programme. He organized emergency food distributions, refugee relief efforts, mother-child health programs, and agricultural projects in Holland, Belgium, Germany, Yugoslavia, Italy, Libya, Iraq, Iran, Lebanon, India, and Korea. Always fascinated by other cultures and skilled in photography, Bob also accumulated a large collection of personal photographs documenting the many places and peoples he encountered.

After retirement, he and his wife, Jean, chose to settle in Blue Hill, ME, and they personally designed and built their home there. He remained active in the local community through the Blue Hill Heritage Trust, Historical Society, and as a recycling center volunteer.

Robert Meyer dedicated his life to the service of others, improving the lives of the world’s neediest. He is survived by his wife of 60 years, Jean, his sister Virginia Cram, his brother George, his children Robert, Richard, and Elisabeth Knapp, and by his grandchildren Andrew and Charlie Meyer, and Katherine and David Knapp.

Among his survivors are his wife, Jean Monsees Meyer; three children, Robert H. Meyer ’71, Richard H. Meyer ’73, and Elisabeth Meyer Knapp ’76; four grandchildren, including Andrew Meyer ’08 and David Meyer ’09; son-in-law John Knapp ’74; a brother and sister; and a nephew, Richard Cram ’70.