Fred C. Meyer Jr.
Fred C. Meyer of Sag Harbor and Scotch Plains, N.J., died in Scotch Plains on May 31 at the age of 65. He had been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer 19 months ago.
Mr. Meyer supervised and arranged the restoration of his historical house on Union Street, known as the Jared Wade House. He could often be seen working in the yard and tending to the house, which his parents purchased the year before he was born. He took great pride in his work. His family wrote that once, when someone used him as a local landmark, giving directions that referenced the spot “where the man is always painting the house,” he was delighted.
Restored by Gary Mott in the early 1990s, the house won the Allan M. Schneider Award for historic preservation.
Mr. Meyer was born on March 4, 1952, in Paterson, N.J., to Fred Charles Meyer Sr. and the former Regina Ruszkowski. He grew up in Sag Harbor and Wyckoff, N.J., graduated from Ramapo Indian Hills Regional High School in Franklin Lakes, N.J., and went on to earn a B.A. in political science from Rutgers University in Newark.
In the summers he worked at Herb McCarthy’s Bowden Square restaurant in Southampton. Mr. McCarthy was a strong influence on his decision to pursue law school, his family said. He earned his law degree from the Miles Law School in Birmingham, Ala.
While studying in Birmingham, he worked with the Children’s Aid Society and Camp Fire Youth and completed an internship with the Southern Poverty Law Center, following his strong interest in civil rights law.
He was married on Oct. 18, 1980, to Barbara Cronenberger. They settled in Scotch Plains in 1983.
Mr. Meyer was a contract negotiator for many corporations, most recently AT&T and before that Allied Signal/Bendix and the Defense Logistics Agency.
He had been a member of the Alabama Bar Association, the Institute of Supply Management, the National Contract Management Association, Toastmasters International, and the Sag Harbor Historical Society.
When not working on his house and garden, Mr. Meyer enjoyed clamming and fishing, especially at Barcelona Point and Sagg Main Beach, often with his best friend, Tim Mott of Sag Harbor. He liked kayaking, enjoyed antiques, followed the stock market, and was a reader of newspapers and works of fiction.
In addition to his wife, he is survived by two children, Andrea C. Meyer of Sag Harbor and Jared P. Meyer of Scotch Plains, and a sister, Regina Meyer Di Turi of Trumbull, Conn.
Mr. Meyer was cremated; some of his ashes were buried at Oakland Cemetery in Sag Harbor, and some will be scattered in a few of his favorite places. A party celebrating his life was held on Saturday in New Jersey. A second one is to be held in Sag Harbor at a later date. Condolences may be posted online at bradleyfuneralhomes.com.
The family has suggested memorial contributions to the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network, 1500 Rosecrans Avenue, Suite 200, Manhattan Beach, Calif. 90266; the John Jermain Memorial Library, 201 Main Street, Sag Harbor 11963, or the Peconic Land Trust, 296 Hampton Road, P.O. Box 1776, Southampton 11968.