Walter John Meyer III

Walter John Meyer III UPPER It is with great sadness that the family of Dr. Walter John Meyer, III announces his passing. He died unexpectedly at age 82 on Friday, November 8, 2024 in Galveston, Texas. Walter had a beautiful life and was universally loved and inspired by all who knew him. He deeply cared for others and was an advocate for many who could not help themselves. He was devoted to family and friends, his patients, and the Galveston community.

Walter was born to parents Walter John Meyer, Jr and Eleanor Moursund Meyer. He spent most of his youth in Houston and was educated in public schools. He then attended Rice University where he graduated magna cum laude with dual degrees in chemistry and biology. There he met his beloved wife and best friend, Olivia.



Fulfilling his lifelong desire to be a pediatrician, Walter went to medical school at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, followed by an internship and residency at the University of Minnesota. At the completion of his medical training, he served in the Public Health Service at the NIH, and then returned to Johns Hopkins for his Pediatric Endocrinology Fellowship.

Walter came to Galveston in 1975 where he became the chief of the Pediatric Endocrine division at UTMB, receiving tenure in 1976 and achieving the rank of full professor in 1980. Shortly thereafter he took an administrative role in the General Clinical Research Center, a position he held until 2001. His endocrine patient practice led to an awareness of endocrine abnormalities in psychiatric disorders. These interests prompted him to complete an additional medical residency in Adult and fellowship in Child Psychiatry which he completed in 1991.

Walter's career was devoted to the alleviation of the suffering of others. He saw a diverse group of patients, many who were victims of social stigma for physical and mental conditions. The countless patients for whom he cared included transgendered individuals, prisoners and pediatric burn survivors. He also had a passion for both learning and mentoring and embraced the opportunities for doing so throughout his career and beyond.

He was one of the early leaders in the treatment of transgender patients, helping to develop the Endocrine Society medical guidelines which set the standards for patient treatment. He also served on the board of the World Professional Association for Transgender Health and was president of the international organization in 2003. His advocacy for treating transgender patients extended over 40 years.

He was heavily involved in the treatment of patients at the prison hospital at UTMB, specifically developing standards of care for the Texas Department of Criminal Justice.

In 1991 he joined UTMB's Dean's office as Vice Dean where he served under three deans over ten years. In that role, he had many opportunities in the larger university setting: establishing the Office of Scientific Integrity; strengthening the medical school curriculum; promoting a more diverse medical student body; and working with the Episcopal Diocese of Texas to establish the student-run clinic at St. Vincent's House.

The last phase of his career he devoted to providing psychiatric care for children at the Shriners Hospital for Children. He established pain protocols for children recovering from major burn injury that was used at multiple burn units around the country only fully retiring in 2023. His clinical investigations included the use of virtual reality during wound cleaning.

His professional work led to over 200 scientific publications, the training of hundreds of students and faculty, and numerous accolades. He was a member of many professional organizations including the American Academy of Pediatrics, the Endocrine Society, and the American Burn Association. Dr. Meyer held the Gladys Kempner and R. Lee Kempner Professorship in the Department of Psychiatry at UTMB. He was awarded UTMB's John P. McGovern Lifetime Achievement Award in Oslerian Medicine in 2017. In 2022, he was honored with the inaugural UTMB Faculty Living Legend award.

Walter's Christian faith was an integral part of his daily life. He was an active and devoted member at Trinity Episcopal Church for over 47 years. He taught Sunday school, led medical missions to Honduras and Dominican Republic and served on the vestry multiple times and was currently serving. He was a strong advocate and supporter of St. Vincent's Episcopal House, serving on the Board of Directors and volunteering as a psychiatrist.

He was an active member of the community and currently served on the board of the Galveston College Foundation and the Friends of Galveston Island State Park.

Walter loved the outdoors, especially gardening, fishing, and exploring nature. Upon retirement he trained as a Texas Master Naturalist, recently completing over 1000 hours of service. He especially enjoyed working at Galveston Island State Park, planting to reestablish the native prairie. He was a keen birder and regularly worked as a guide in Galveston's Feather Fest. Walter also had a passion for travel; he and Olivia were blessed to have visited many diverse places around the world. He read a history of each country he visited and he loved sharing stories of these adventures with others when he returned home.

He derived immense joy from helping others and was a blessing to all who knew him. His last great gift was donating his body to UTMB for medical research and training as part of the University's Living Will program.

Walter was an incredible husband, father and grandfather and will be dearly missed. He is predeceased by his parents and his brother Carl Moursund Meyer. He is survived by his beloved wife of 59 years Olivia, his children and their spouses Randall and Iliyana Meyer and Eleanor (Ellee) and John de Groot, and his grandchildren, Alexander and Andrei Meyer and Evelyn and Jeffrey de Groot, sister-in-law Sherry Meyer, sister-in-law Annette Hastie (Robin), brother-in-law Christopher Thomas (Linda), niece and nephew Rachel Thomas (Jeremy), Craig Thomas (Alexandra), great nieces and nephew, cousins, as well as much loved friends too numerous to count.

A celebration of life service will be held at Trinity Episcopal Church, 22nd and Ball in Galveston, at 11 am on Saturday November 16, 2024. A lunch reception will follow the service at neighboring Eaton Hall.

Memorial gifts in Walter's honor made be made to:

Trinity Episcopal Church Building Preservation

2216 Ball Street

Galveston TX 77550

or

Friends of Galveston Island State Park

PO Box 5428

Galveston TX 77554