Edwin Paul Meyer

WORCESTER - Edwin Paul Daly Meyer passed away peacefully, at the age of 95, on Saturday, August 4, 2018, surrounded by his loving family.  He was born in Worcester, MA on March 28, 1923, the son of Edwin C. Meyer, whose parents emigrated to the U.S. from County Argau, Switzerland in 1887, and Helen F. Daly, whose grandparents emigrated from County Cork, Ireland in 1875.

Ed was raised and lived in Worcester for most of his life, moving to the town of Dennis on Cape Cod in retirement. He attended Classical High School where he was very active in student organizations, and where he met the love of his life, Claire Lorraine Hammond. They were happily married for forty-five years prior to her death in 1990.

After graduation in the fall of 1941, Ed was admitted to the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester and into its very first Naval Reserve Officers Training Corps.  He was also appointed as that Corps' first Midshipman Company Commander.  Ed's normal collegiate courses and NROTC training were immediately accelerated that December following the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor.  With the outset of World War II, Ed and his fellow Midshipmen studied through summers and weekends to finish their dual four year programs in just under three years. Ed was then awarded a Bachelor of Science Degree in Business Administration / Economics, and received his Commission as an Officer in the US Navy as an Ensign, later promoted to Lieutenant.

Immediately after graduation from Holy Cross, Ed shipped overseas to the Pacific Theater on the USS Frederick Funston, the largest Attack Transport in the Navy.  He participated in the invasions of Iwo Jima, Leyte, and Luzon in the Philippines, landing Marines on the beaches while his ship served double duty as a hospital for the wounded.  While en route to the invasion of Okinawa, the Funston was damaged by bombs from a Japanese war plane forcing its return to San Francisco for repairs. Ed and Claire used that brief respite from the war to marry, on July 9, 1945 in Worcester at Notre Dame Church.  After a short honeymoon in Nantucket, Ed was ordered back to his now repaired ship in California. While supervising the reloading of the Funston for the inevitable invasion of Japan, the war suddenly ended with the dropping of atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Ed and Claire celebrated VJ Day in San Francisco before he again shipped out to bring U.S. soldiers back from the war.

Honorably discharged, Ed settled with Claire in Worcester and raised their family of five children. He was a decades long member of Our Lady of the Rosary Parish and served on many committees and projects for the church.  He was employed by Leon Barrett Centrifugals, Inc. serving as Vice President for much of his forty-two year career. He furthered his education during that time at Worcester Polytechnic Institute's School of Industrial Management for four years while serving as Class President. Both Ed and Claire were strong believers in higher education and provided for college degrees for all five of their children.  They also loved to travel and did so extensively for many years.

Ed's wife passed away in 1990.  Following her death, Ed was blessed to find companionship with family friend Charlotte Ingersoll with whom he shared his life on Cape Cod and in Florida for twenty-four years until her passing in 2015. While on the Cape, Ed served as Director of the Holy Cross Club of Cape Cod, as an Officer of the Worcester Club of CC, and as Director of the Retired Men's Club of CC. He was also an active member of Our Lady of the Cape Church.

Ed was a loving father and a gentleman who lived an especially exemplary life centered around his family and his Faith.  He was respected by all who knew him for his integrity, intellect, work ethic, responsibility, and patriotism. His quick wit, friendliness, and ever-present sense of humor endeared him to all. One could honestly say that he was a near perfect example of, and one of the last of, the “greatest generation”.

Ed is survived by his son Edwin R. Meyer and his wife Louise of Holden, his daughter-in-law Jane (McKenna) Meyer of Myrtle Beach, SC, his son John S. Meyer and his wife Kathleen, also of Holden, his daughter Anne Louise Meyer and her husband Jeffrey Hill of Marstons Mills, Cape Cod, and his daughter Mary Claire Kilburn and her husband Daniel Kilburn of Worcester.   Ed's son Paul K. Meyer, Jane's husband, predeceased Ed in 2011.  Ed's sister, Janet (Meyer) Crowley, predeceased him in 2016.

Ed is also survived by his grandchildren, Amy (Meyer) Hoopis, Kate and Joseph Edwin Hennigan, John C. Meyer, Danielle (Meyer) Remillard, Stephen E.F. Meyer, several great grandchildren and many nieces and nephews.  His grandson Patrick Meyer predeceased him in 1973.

The family would like to thank Notre Dame du Lac Assisted Living and Rose Monahan Hospice for the wonderful care they gave to Ed in his last years and weeks.

A Funeral Mass will be held at 11:00 am on Thursday, August 9, 2018 at Our Lady of the Rosary Church, 25 Fales St, Worcester.   Calling hours are Wednesday, August 8 from 5:00 – 7:00 pm at Rice Funeral Home, 300 Park Ave.  Burial will be private.  In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to The Ovarian Cancer Research Fund or the Holy Cross O’Callahan Society NROTC.