Date : 14 Nov 2011
Location : Mount Hope Cemetery, Elgin, IL
Ralph Meyer, a lifelong resident of Elgin, 88, passed away on Wednesday, Nov. 9, 2011, at St. Joseph Hospital. He was born July 11, 1923, in Elgin, the son of Leo H. and Dorothy Meyer. He grew up on Ann Street and attended Sheridan School and graduated from Elgin High in 1941. As a child, he enjoyed model trains and later as a teenager his Ford Model A Roadster. Mr. Meyer was attending the University of Illinois and studying engineering when he enlisted in the Navy during World War II, the Navy sent him to the University of Texas in Houston, where he took accelerated training to help develop the radar for the government. After further studies, he was sent to San Francisco to perfect the radar to help protect the West Coast. After the Navy, he went to work as an engineer for Zenith in Chicago for 29 years (1949 -1978), where he worked extensively on developing vacuum tube technology and Zenith's remote control technology for television. At Zenith, Ralph helped develop night vision scopes that were used in Vietnam, and also the VCR and the optical laser disk. After Zenith, he worked for 10 years at Lucitron developing flat panel display devices. Ralph married Elizabeth McCabe in 1952, and they lived on Division Street.
Ralph is survived by his children, Judy (Steven Scott) Robnett of Elgin, Ralph (Vanessa) Meyer Jr. of Shorewood, Ill. and Roy Meyer of St. Joseph, Ill.; his grandchildren, Mary Robnett, Katherine (David) Smith, Teresa and Ralph Meyer III and Amber (Dejan) Beogradlija, Brittany, Joel and Dean Meyer; and his great-grandson, Noah Beogradlija. He was preceded in death by his parents; and his wife in 2009, Elizabeth.
A funeral Mass will be held on Monday, Nov. 14, at 9:30 a.m. at St. Mary Catholic Church, Elgin, with burial to follow in Mount Hope Cemetery. Visitation will be held on Sunday, from 3 to 8 p.m. at the Wait-Ross-Allanson Funeral and Cremation Services Chapel, 51 Center St., Elgin, and on Monday, at the church from 9 a.m. until the time of the Mass. For funeral information, 847-742-2100 or lairdfamilyfuneralservices.com.
Chicago Suburban Daily Herald - Nov 11, 2011
