Caesar O Meyer

Caesar Oscar Meyer, was born in Nordheim, Texas on March 23, 1918, of German immigrant grandparents. He was an old-fashioned cowboy growing up in the 1920s and 1930s. He worked as a ranch hand riding horses and mending fences at his grandpa's large cattle ranch near Nordheim. His nickname since then was Chuck Meyer. (Any resemblance between him and a hot dog company are purely coincidental!)

In 1940, he went to work at Kelly Field Army Air Base near San Antonio for the military, and was trained during WW2 to be a professional engineer and test pilot. He was valued for his knowledge and expertise in air flight mechanics so he was not pressed into active duty during the war. After the war, he went to work for Boeing Aircraft, Hughes Aircraft, Northrup Aircraft, and finally settled at North American Aviation in 1955. He remained working there until retiring from North American Rockwell in 1975 with full benefits as a senior flight engineer, and worked with NASA on the Gemini Program (1963-1966) and the Apollo Program (1967-1973). He was at NASA-JPL in Pasadena on July 20, 1969 with Dr. Wernher von Braun, head of the NASA Space Program, when the Apollo 11 landed on the Moon. He received numerous awards and medals from his corporate supervisors, and from NASA. We have a photo of him with Dr. von Braun from that time.

Chuck had been raised in a partially German Jewish family, and German Lutheran protestant family. He became a Christian in 1950 and was baptized in the Lutheran Church, and attended Emanuel Lutheran Church of Seguin, Texas for the past 35 years.

Mr. Meyer was married 3 times, and had 6 children: Stephen Meyer, who now works for the Pentagon and lives in Arlington, Virginia; Susan Meyer, and Rick Meyer. He had 3 children decease before him: Sandra, Darlene, and Robert.

Lila had 4 children from her previous marriage to John A. Long: from oldest to youngest: Don, Bonnie, Robert, and Ken. Of these, Ken passed away of suicide in August 2008.

Chuck and Lila were married on July 2, 1966 and last summer celebrated 44 wonderful years of marriage together. We took them to a very special place, the famous German restaurant Friesenhaus, in New Braunfels, Texas, for a special gourmet Bavarian dinner.

In 1975, after retirement, Chuck and Lila Meyer moved from their home in Lakewood, California, to live in his boyhood home at 625 Baker Avenue in Seguin, Texas, near San Antonio. He was well loved and respected, and knew just about everyone in town in those days, and was a nephew of the President of Seguin State Bank, which is now named American Bank of Texas. The Meyers moved to a new custom-built home on Eagle Ridge Drive in 1989, where they lived until moving one last time to their present home, on Eastridge Parkway in Seguin, in 1996. Chuck Meyer had this home custom-built also, although it was part of a housing tract, and it has many special features due to his craftsman's touch.

Chuck was the youngest flight engineer supervisor to be certified for the flight line during WW2, and won many prestigious awards, medals and plaques for his service to the United States Air Force and NASA via his employment at several aviation and aerospace corporations over the next 30 years.

Chuck enjoyed Western movies, and TV shows like Bonanza, and adventure films. He also was an avid Dallas Cowboys football fan, and had played football himself in college.

Chuck Meyer died Saturday, December 25, 2010, at 6:00 PM, of cardiac arrest and fluid congestion. He was 92 years of age. We had seen his health decline sharply in the past month since Thanksgiving, and then in the past week, he went down fast.

Funeral services are pending, through Goetz Funeral Home in Seguin, Texas. Burial will be in the family plot at San Geronimo Cemetery in Seguin, where my youngest brother is also buried. A Memorial Service will be performed on Thursday, December 30, at 10:00 AM, by Emanuel Lutheran Church, Chuck and Lila's church home for the past 35 years. Flying in from out of town will be Lila's brother and sister-in-law, Mr. Hugh and Mrs. Joanne Grant, of Galt, California, near Sacramento, and Lila's sister, Betty Turner, and her husband, Robert Turner, from Huntingburg, Indiana. Also attending will be Chuck’s cousin, Raymond Willman, of Geronimo, and Lila’s oldest son, Don J. Long, who resides with her. Don and his wife Sharon have been caregivers for Chuck and Lila Meyer for the past year since last January.

Please pray for us, my Mom, and all the things we need to deal with to prepare for his funeral this coming week. At least we did everything we could for him. The pastor-chaplain at the hospital, Jeremy, was a real nice fellow, a born-again Christian, so we all prayed together around Chuck's body before we left to come home. Now he is at rest. My Mom is really taking it hard so this next few weeks is going to be really hard on her. I knew it was coming so it didn't overwhelm me.

Praise Jesus! Bless His Holy Name! Amen.

Don J. Long

Seguin, Texas

Saturday, December 25, 2010 at 8:30 PM Texas time