The Episcopal Theological Seminary of the Southwest

Richard Charles Meyer

He came to Austin, Texas, from New York because he longed for warm weather. He went to work as a counselor for the inmates at the Travis County Jail at Del Valle, where he was perceived as kind, compassionate, and possessed of a great sense of humor. He applied for and was hired to be the first Chaplain at Saint David's Hospital and in the next two decades became a major resource to the city of Austin in matters pertaining to the pastoral care of hospital patients, the stewardship of health care, the compassionate role of hospice, and the serious matters of ethics in the delivery of health care.

Published as a writer of mysteries, the care and feeding of children, and matters theological, his energy was amazing and recognized by the Austin community. It has been said by many that Chuck Meyer taught us how to die - and in so doing taught us how to live. A deeply committed husband, father and friend, we mourn his untimely death while driving to Houston with Debi, his wife.

He was simply a good person, an exemplary teacher at the seminary, and a model of the ministry of compassion. The Seminary of the Southwest honors itself by conferring on the Reverend Chuck Meyer posthumously, the degree of Doctor of Divinity, honoris causa, and in so doing carves his name into the life and history of our school.

May 21, 2002 Austin, Texas