Charles F. Myers
October 13, 1942 - January 20, 2023
Kansas City, Missouri - Charles F. Myers, a prominent Kansas City health care attorney whose activism and influence spanned decades, died on Friday January 20th, 2023 at the age of 80. The cause was complications from dementia, his son's Christopher and Jason said.
There will be a visitation at 9am and a memorial service at 11am on Saturday February 4th, 2023 at North Cross United Methodist Church, 1321 NE Vivion Road, Kansas City, MO 64118.
Charles was born in Fairfield, Iowa on October 13, 1942 and grew up in the small 250 person town of Packwood, Iowa. He graduated high school from the Packwood Consolidated School District in 1960 as one of only 13 in his graduating class, a fact that he always loved to point out.
He attended Northeast Missouri State University (now Truman State University) in Kirksville, Missouri and graduated in 1964 with a BS degree in Business Education and Business Administration.
Along the way he met Kay Lynne Mekemson from Fort Madison, Iowa at a student council meeting. Both were presidents of their respective sororities and fraternities, and worked together on a function to bring in a hot new band out of California called the Mamas and the Papas to the campus. Unfortunately, the University did not approve of the band. That didn't stop them from going steady, with their first date watching the Beatles appearance on the Ed Sullivan Show Feb 9th, 1964. They married 11 months later on December 27 and moved to Kansas City where Charles attended UMKC Law School finishing first in his class in 1968.
Charles started his career at the Dietrich, Davis, Dicus, Rowlands, Schmidt & Gorman Law firm making a name for himself in corporate tax law and being mentored by a number of prominent partners including Gerald Gorman and Ilus Davis.
In 1978, he got an unexpected offer during a NKC Rotary Club meeting. North Kansas City Hospital had just undergone an administrative change and wanted a fresh start. The hospital administration asked him to look at some key issues and before long, he was asked to represent the hospital. A new specialty in health care legalities had begun.
Kay Lynne and Charles both began to get involved in the community, which remained their passion throughout their lives.
Charles established a prominent health care law practice with Spencer, Fane, Britt and Brown in 1988 and then Lathrop & Gage from 1994 until his retirement in 2018. Charles represented several dozen hospitals across Missouri and Kansas including North Kansas City Hospital, St. Luke's Hospital of Kansas City, Liberty Hospital, Mast Ambulance and was a member of the board of directors at Truman Medical Center. He also worked to help draft and pass the Missouri Health Care Durable Power of Attorney law. He was selected by his peers for the Health Care Law Section of the Best Lawyers in America since the inception of that section in 1991.
He never forgot his small town roots, maintaining a law practice in Higginsville, MO putting together wills and estate plans at affordable prices.
Charles was heavily involved in public service, serving on the Kansas City, Missouri Planning Commission for nearly two decades where he served as chair, the Clay County Economic Development Council, Northland Regional Chamber of Commerce, and a regular at Rotary International in NKC. He was also an active member of the North Cross United Methodist Church where he was a former chair of trustees.
Charles was heavily involved in the Clay County Democrat Central Committee and Missouri State Democratic Party his entire life and helped raise money to elect Emanuel Cleaver as Kansas City Mayor in 1991. His commitment to the DNC over the years earned him a spot as a Missouri Democratic delegate in the 2012 DNC conference in Charlotte, NC to re-elect Barack Obama.
He loved sports and cheering for the Royals, Chiefs and Kansas Jayhawks Basketball.
Charles is survived by his sister, Charlotte Susie Myers (Kansas City) and his two sons, Charles Jason Myers (Kansas City) and Christopher Earl Myers (Charlotte, NC). The family requests that in lieu of flowers that contributions be made to the Charles Franklin Myers Memorial Fund at North Cross United Methodist Church.