Alfred Meyer

Alfred W. Meyer Valparaiso Alfred W. Meyer, age 79, Seegers Professor Emeritus and former Dean of the Valparaiso University School of Law, died Sunday, January 28, 2007 at Porter Hospital in Valparaiso. A child of Valparaiso University, Meyer was born November 19, 1927, the son of Lillian (Folkers) and Alfred H. Meyer, one of the first four professors to join the faculty after the Lutheran University Association took over the school in 1926. Following in the footsteps of his father, longtime professor, author and chair of the VU Geography Department, Meyer spent his career at the School of Law from 1961 until his retirement in 1994. His love for the university, its law school and the law, motivated his career, his colleagues and several generations of students. Upon his retirement, he received Indiana's highest individual honor by being named a Sagamore of the Wabash by Gov. Evan Bayh. After receiving his J.D. from the VU School of Law in 1950, Meyer went on to Harvard Law School where he received his LLM degree in 1951 and to Columbia University School of Law where he was a Cardozo Fellow. Before returning to VU's faculty, he taught at Indiana University School of Law, Bloomington. As a visiting professor, he taught at the University of South Carolina School of Law,New York Law School and Stetson University College of Law. As law school dean at VU from 1969-1977 and 1982-1983, Meyer's administration was characterized by emphasis on student body diversification, scholarship for the entire faculty and his desire to engender a deep understanding of the nexus between religious faith and intellectual freedom. His scholarly publications included a lead article in the Harvard Law Review on law and religion and a book on sales and leases. He was founding faculty advisor to the Valparaiso University Law Review. In the latter part of his teaching career, Meyer introduced Alternative Dispute Resolution to the law school curriculum and delivered the Louis and Anna Seegers Memorial lecture, a part of the law school's first annual endowed lecture series. Following retirement from VU, Meyer and his wife, Nancy moved to Palm Desert, CA. At age 65, Meyer took the California bar exam and became a practicing attorney. In California, he served on the boards of directors of Martha's Village, a community serving the homeless and Bet Chesed, a legal aid clinic. Returning to Valparaiso in 1998 to be closer to family, Meyer earned certification as a mediator and handled commercial law and tort cases in state and federal courts. For the past several years, he served on the board of the Valparaiso Chapter of Habitat for Humanity and returned to a position he had previously held on the school board at Immanuel Lutheran Church where he had also been congregational president. Meyer served in the U.S. military as a Naval Air Cadet during WWII and as an Army JAG officer during the Korean conflict. He is survived by his wife, Nancy, whom he married August 6, 1976; four children: Jayma Meyer Hack of New York City, NY, Mark W. Meyer and Stephen C. Meyer of Valparaiso, and Karl Meyer of Bellingham, WA; two stepchildren: Laura Blaney of Valparaiso and Carl Shurr of Austin, TX; 13 grandchildren; and his former wife, Phyllis Meyer. Following cremation at Angelcrest Crematory, a memorial service will be held on Thursday at 11:00 a.m. at Immanuel Lutheran Church, 1700 N. Monticello Park Dr., Valparaiso with the Rev. Stephen Bongard and the Rev. Fred Niedner officiating. Visitation will follow at Kelsey's Steak House, 2300 U.S. Highway 30, Valparaiso. Memorial contributions may be made to Valparaiso University. moellerfuneralhome.com