George John Meyer M.D.

1927 - 2018

MEYER, George John, MD, died peacefully July 4, 2018, in hospice care at John Knox Village, Pompano Beach FL. He is survived by his adored and adoring wife, Marilyn Lucenta (Peters) Meyer; children G. Christian (Patricia) Meyer of Gainesville FL, Daniel C. Meyer of New Orleans LA, Rebecca (Glenn) West of Winston-Salem NC, stepson Robert E. DiSalvo of Juno Beach FL; grandchildren Jessica Nyegard (Jason) Schmidt of Tampa FL, Joshua (Melissa) Nyegard of Graniteville SC, Nicolas (Hannah) West of New Bern NC, Grace West of Chicago IL, Kirk (Kim) Dunn of Marietta GA; great-grandchildren Nicole, Hannah, Melanie, Matthew, Alexander, Makayla, Nathaniel; and dozens of nephews, nieces, and cousins. He was predeceased by his daughter Melanie Nyegard, his parents, his nine (older) siblings and their spouses, and two previous wives (Barbara nee Cline and Virginia nee Roosen). George was born in Bristol Connecticut, on May 25, 1927, the tenth child and fifth son of the Rev. Dr. and Mrs. George Jacob Meyer. He was salutatorian of his graduating class at Bristol High School, where he was an outstanding scholar, athlete, and student leader. Near the end of World War II, George volunteered to serve in the US Navy Hospital Corps. In 1948 George graduated magna cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa from Tufts College (now University), majoring in biology and chemistry, minoring in physics. After he received his MD degree from the University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry in 1952, he fulfilled a one-year internship at North Carolina Baptist Hospital, Bowman Gray School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, NC, followed by five years of family medical practice in and near High Point, NC. He then spent three years of further training as a resident physician in radiology at the University of Miami, Jackson Memorial Hospital, Miami, FL. In 1961 Dr. Meyer joined the staff of Holy Cross Hospital in Fort Lauderdale where he worked for 30 years and was chairman of the Radiology Department for several years. Along with Robert Conti, MD, he founded and presided over Meyer and Conti, PA, which later became Radiologists of North Fort Lauderdale, PA, a 13-man group providing expert care to the patients of Holy Cross Hospital. He was also an Associate Professor on the Voluntary Faculty of the Radiology Department of the University of Miami School of Medicine. Early in his career at HCH, he became a member of the Greater Miami Radiological Society, and for a one-year term served as President of that organization. Dr. Meyer was a Diplomate of the American Board of Radiology and a life member of the American College of Radiology. In l969 he initiated, organized, and chaired the Stop Smoking! clinics in Broward County, in cooperation with Holy Cross Hospital, the American Cancer Society, the American Heart Association, and the American Lung Association. He directed noteworthy efforts to the general public, emphasizing information and dire warnings about the dangers of smoking. These endeavors were recognized, published, broadcast, and telecast nationally. During the summer of 1975 Dr. Meyer volunteered for a month with CARE Medico as the Radiologist of Belize City Hospital in Belize, Central America. In the 1980s he worked with Physicians for Social Responsibility (PSR) to help spread awareness of the world-wide catastrophic dangers of nuclear weapons. In 1985 International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War (IPPNW) received the Nobel Peace Prize, and PSR was the USA affiliate of IPPNW. That achievement was probably his most cherished professional accomplishment. Dr. Meyer was an avid reader of many genres: current events, medical innovations, history, philosophy, poetry, science, humor (favorite author, William Shakespeare; favorite magazine, The New Yorker) He enjoyed the glories of nature, travel (especially cruising), classical music, opera, chess, bridge, movies, cooking, and word puzzles. His love of family was boundless, and he had a mordant sense of humor. Although raised in a fundamentalist Lutheran household, his extensive scientific studies and readings directed him, in later life, to abandon the tenets and myths of organized religions and to adopt rational secular humanistic principles. He was a highly moral man of impeccable integrity who had compassion for all of suffering humanity. He was a life member of the American Humanist Association and the Freedom from Religion Foundation. George's body will be cremated and his remains interred at South Florida National Cemetery in Lake Worth. Memorial donations can be made to one's charity of choice. He has requested that there should be no funeral service.