James Alexander Meyer

Colonel James Alexander Meyer US Army, MD

Meyer, Dr.  James (Jim) Alexander (86) passed away peacefully at home with his family in Redlands, CA on December 20, 2018 after the steady progression of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis. He was born in Worcester, MA, on April 5, 1932, the son of a truck driver/repairman and homemaker/disaster relief pioneer. Jim was a curious and industrious child who amused himself by taking apart mechanical and electronic devices to see how they worked. He enjoyed making things. He attended Atlantic Union College (AUC) in South Lancaster, MA and supported himself by working in a printing press where he ran the monotype machine. He graduated from AUC in 1954 and moved to California where he attended medical school at the College of Medical Evangelists (later renamed Loma Linda University). During medical school he worked at the Globe Ticket Company where he printed the first tickets for a new amusement park called Disneyland. After his junior year he joined the US Army and in 1957, he married Marjorie I. (Rudisaile) Meyer. He continued school while in the Army and graduated in 1958. Following graduation, he was assigned to Walter Reed Army Institute of Research in Washington D.C. where he chose to specialize in Anesthesiology. While at Walter Reed, he participated in several projects advancing medical science including the design, from readily available materials, of a field operable heart lung machine. He also worked to develop international hospital safety standards as a representative to the International Standards Organization in Geneva, Switzerland. While in the Army, in addition to his work at Walter Reed (1958–1962 and 1964-1968), he was assigned to military hospitals in Korea (1962-1963), at Fort Ord, California (1968-1970) and at Letterman Army Medical Center on the Presidio of San Francisco, CA (1970-1978) where he led a residency program in Anesthesia. He progressed through the ranks, achieved the rank of Colonel and was featured in US Army recruitment advertising before retiring from the Army in 1978. After leaving the Army, he moved to Redlands, CA where he brought his teaching and leadership skills to the Jerry L. Pettis Memorial Hospital (1978-1995) and established an anesthesia residency program in cooperation with Loma Linda University. In addition to his practice and teaching, he worked to improve national operating room safety standards with significant contributions to the National Electrical Code (operating room safety) and membership in the National Fire Prevention Association. He retired from the Veteran’s Administration in 1995 and spent his remaining years enjoying travel, volunteer work, church activities, woodworking, gadgetry, and workshop projects. Jim was a licensed amateur radio operator and a member of the Lost Dutchman Mining Association.

He is survived by his wife of 61 years, Marjorie (Rudisaile) Meyer, sister, Elizabeth (Meyer) Benson (Happy Valley, OR), sons James Meyer (Long Beach, CA), Jeffrey Meyer (Windsor, CA), daughter Mary Ann (Meyer) Carter (Redlands, CA), and niece Lucy (Benson) Krull (Happy Valley, OR), grandchildren, Michael Cody, Kelly Celis, Amanda (Meyer) Falkowski, Andrew Meyer, Julie (Meyer) Fiedler, Oliver Carter, Christian Carter, Alex Carter, and great-grandchildren Ezra and Derrick Cody, Gabriel, Makayla, and Madalyn Celis, Vincenzo and Rocco Falkowski, Paige and Chloe Fiedler, Olive Carter, and grand-nephew Peter Krull.

Jim was a Seventh-Day Adventist and member of the Redlands Seventh-Day Adventist church. A memorial service will be held at Emerson Bartlett Mortuary, in Redlands, CA on January 4, 2019 at 10:00AM