William Scott Meyer II

William Scott Meyer II, a national advocate for historic preservation through his company River City Restorations, prime mover in the renaissance of downtown Hannibal, fourth-generation Chamber of Commerce leader and proud family man, died Monday, May 12, 2025. He was 72. Scott Meyer's career in preserving the history and heritage of his hometown - America's Hometown - impacted generations of Midwesterners far beyond the western shore of Mark Twain's Mississippi River. Meyer, with his wife Jean Kaufmann Meyer and partners Jeff and Kristy Trevathan, founded River City Restorations, Inc., in 1978 and served as CEO and president for more than four decades until his January 2023 retirement. Friends and Family are invited to Scott's Life Celebration on Thursday, July 3, 2025, from 1:00 PM to 4:00 PM at the James O'Donnell Funeral Home in Hannibal, MO. At 2:30 PM there will be a speaker, and memories shared in honor of Scott. College graduate Scott Meyer returned to Hannibal after Mizzou, joining the ranks of a Bleigh Construction bridge-building crew and seeing opportunities where others only saw decline. Friends and colleagues frequently describe his ability to share that vision, coaching clients and demonstrating how the meticulous restoration of aging properties would bring life and color, not just to the neighborhoods of Twain's "white town drowsing," but to Main Streets across the Midwest. Propelled by the slogan "Doing things right the first time," the two couples grew River City, the professional contracting and consulting firm. Improbably, the scrappy preservation entrepreneurs landed the contract for the complex task of restoring Abraham Lincoln's home in Springfield, Ill. The Lincoln Home project earned the company a Certificate of Excellence in 1988 from the National Park Service. Former newsman and state bureaucrat John Webber arrived in Hannibal in the late 1970s, a time of shrinking population when grain silos loomed above the riverfront and floods interrupted commerce. "I knew of no one who had the determination to see it in a different way," said Webber. "Scott described a 24-7 place, with people living in the second and third stories above the shops and restaurants; the kind of place that Hannibal's downtown has become now 40 years later. "He was the first guy I talked to who thought that kind of thing was possible," said Webber. Meyer helped develop the long-range plan for the Mark Twain Boyhood Home and Museum district and worked to establish Hannibal's Main Streets program, which earned the National Trust for Historic Preservation's honor for Missouri's best commercial Main Street rehabilitation in 1995. The company won a 1992 Great American Home Award for rehabilitation of the Garth Woodside Mansion Bed and Breakfast outside Hannibal, and also restored the John Wood Mansion in nearby Quincy, Ill. Meyer consulted on preservation of the Laura Ingalls Wilder home in Mansfield, Mo., and the Eells House in Quincy, an Underground Railroad stop. Meyer was past president of both the Missouri Heritage Trust and the Missouri Alliance for Historic Preservation. He served for nine years as Missouri state adviser to the National Trust for Historic Preservation, alongside Kansas City attorney Bill Bruning. Meyer then continued as adviser emeritus. "Scott was an important national leader in historic preservation," said Bruning. Scott Meyer had a knack for welcoming prospective clients and newcomers to Hannibal, as his parents did before him. As ex-Bostonian Curt Wellman, a former Hannibal Courier-Post journalist, describes it: "What I will always appreciate is how welcome Scott made me feel. He and Jean had the capacity to help bring people into Hannibal. For me that was priceless. They opened up the whole world of good things and made my whole experience in Hannibal so much better." Meyer's community activities included being the fourth generation of his family to serve as president of the Hannibal Chamber of Commerce. He was active with the Hannibal Arts Council, serving up warm apple cider with Jean for 35 years to the council's Fall Folklife Festival visitors; as well as the Hannibal Y-Men's, notably as a whistle-blowing referee for the club's annual Mud Volleyball tournament He coached not only historic preservationists, but also his three children's many sports teams. "His creative side made regular appearances in the form of homemade toys and furniture, typically crafted out of leftover materials from River City's wood shop," said eldest son, Gabe. "Somehow he managed to make a pretty darn good soccer coach, having never played a lick." "Dad never missed an opportunity to coach one of our teams or attend one of our games," said daughter Ellie. "He drove hours and hours across the Midwest to watch us on the soccer pitch, football field, tennis courts or basketball courts. While other parents might've yelled from the sidelines, he just watched with focus and provided thoughtful advice on the ride home." "Dad was a culinary genius who would create abundant weekend brunches, usually with a hodgepodge of friends and family arriving unannounced," said son Gus. "His love for cooking stemmed from bringing loved ones together, and he has passed that down to all of us." In 2015, Scott and Jean Meyer purchased the former Fette Orchard on Hannibal's Palmyra Road at auction. They restored the 1870 house and converted the 1850 timber frame barn into The Orchard, a popular regional events space. "We enjoy being stewards of this property for our lifetime, and hopefully our families in generations to come," Scott Meyer said in a 2024 profile by local historian Mary Lou Montgomery. "It's kind of a legacy. We like living in historic places." The fourth child and first son of William Herbert and Joan Paradise Meyer of Hannibal, William Scott Meyer II was born Sept. 10, 1952. Named for his grandfather, he quickly outgrew the boyhood nickname Scottie. A 1970 graduate of Hannibal Senior High, Scott played football, basketball and ran track, earning All-District and All-Conference recognition as a two-way football player for the Pirates. A member of the National Honor Society and a Boys State delegate, he received the University of Missouri Curators' certificate of recognition and a Western Publishing Foundation Scholarship. He was voted Best Looking and Most Athletic Senior by his 1970 class. Meyer earned a B.S. degree in accounting from the University of Missouri-Columbia in 1974. He was a member of the Sigma Nu fraternity. Scott Meyer is survived by his wife of 46 years, Jean Lee Kaufmann Meyer; two sons and a daughter: Gabriel Scott (Gabe) Meyer (Mariah) of Rocheport, Mo.; Joan Elizabeth (Ellie) Meyer Zigulich (Jim) of Chicago, Ill.; William August (Gus) Meyer of Kansas City; and one grandson, Owen James Zigulich. Mr. Meyer's siblings include Jennie Meyer McCafferty (Art), Ypsilanti, Mich.; Dr. Claire Meyer Waldron (Don), Blacksburg, Va.; Mary Beth Meyer (Alan Gerson), New Orleans, La.; Larry "Bud" Meyer (Anne Robertson), Washington, Va.; Louis Meyer (Cindy), Durango, Colo.; Martin Meyer (Laura), Hannibal, Mo.; and Jeanne Paradise Meyer (Matt Josephs), South Londonderry, Vt. Also surviving are numerous nieces, nephews and members of the extended Meyer and Kaufmann families. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests donations to: * The newly established Scott Meyer Historic Preservation Fund, c/o the Hannibal Arts Council (a fund encouraging entrepreneurial business owners to invest in historic Hannibal's bricks and mortar); * The Y-Men's Club; * The Hannibal Arts Council Past Presidents' Scholarship. To send flowers to the family or plant a tree in memory of William, please visit our floral store.