Dr. Lawrence Donald (Don) Meyer, 86, died Monday, July 29, 2019, at Baptist Memorial Hospital – North Mississippi in Oxford. The memorial service will be held Friday, August 2, 2019, at 11 a.m. at St. Andrew’s United Methodist Church with Rev. Billy Owen officiating. The visitation will be held prior to the service at the church from 9:30 a.m. until service time.

 

Don was born on April 14, 1933, in Kansas City, Kan., (to have the birth by a physician desired by the mother). His parents were Lawrence Dick Meyer and Florence Malinda Uphaus Meyer, longtime residents of Concordia, Mo. He grew up on a small farm near Concordia, attending Concordia Grade School and High School. He attended the University of Missouri (Columbia) where he earned a BS (1954) and MS (1955) degree in Agricultural Engineering. He then was employed by the Agricultural Research Service USDA at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Ind., to conduct soil erosion control and runoff management research on agricultural land. At Purdue, he concurrently worked on a PhD (1964). He continued his research at Purdue until 1973, when he was transferred to the National Sedimentation Laboratory in Oxford. Don retired in 1993 after 40 years of service with the USDA. He was an avid fisherman and outdoorsman.

Don married Loretta Lou Bush on December 26, 1954, in Hunnewell, Mo., and she died in 2016 after more than 61 years of marriage. They were blessed with 3 sons: Dan (1956) and his wife, Pam, of Clarksville, Tenn., James (1959) and his wife, Kim, of Atlanta, Ga., and David (1967) and his wife, Molly, of Roseville, Minn., and Don now has 3 grandsons, a granddaughter, and a great granddaughter. In 2018, he married Jean Greenway, a good friend of Loretta.

Don was a long-time member of various United Methodist churches, most recently a member for 46 years at St. Andrew’s of Oxford. He was active in Toastmasters, Optimist Club, and several professional organizations.

Memorial contributions in Dr. Meyer’s memory may be made to St. Andrew’s United Methodist Church, 431 N 16th St., Oxford, MS 38655 or Camp Lake Stephens, 117 Camp Lake Stephens Dr., Oxford, MS 38655.

For additional information or to leave an online condolence, please call 662.234.7971 or visit www.wallerfuneralhome.com.