D. Paul Meyer

Paul Meyer, as he was known, was a retired Boeing engineer who was the first in his family to graduate from college. He was raised in a farming family in Iowa that later moved to Colorado. The eldest of three, Paul chose not to follow his agrarian roots and instead pursued college after serving in the Navy during the Korean War. With help from the GI Bill, Paul graduated from the University of Colorado and later obtained a master’s degree from Purdue University.

He married Christie Anna Forrestal of Denver in the mid-1950s. The couple had three sons before divorcing in the mid-1980s.

Paul worked for Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Los Angeles, Calif., and later for Boeing in Seattle. He worked on NASA missions, including the Ranger mission to the moon; Mariner missions to Mars, Venus, and Mercury; and the Galileo mission to Jupiter. At Boeing, he supported advanced planning for the International Space Station and future human missions to Mars.

Paul moved his family to the Pacific Northwest in 1968, fleeing the smog of Southern California. He lived for many years in Bellevue and later in Seward Park with his second wife Joan Robbins.

Paul was a lifelong supporter of environmental and antiwar causes. He was a past member of East Shore Unitarian Church, where he was active in the Schweitzer Extended Family – a close-knit group of families and friends that bonded and interacted in annual activities for more than four decades, including his annual Seafair party.

Paul had many hobbies. He wrote and published three books, traveled to Europe and Africa, dabbled in photography, played trumpet, sailed the Puget Sound, and volunteered at the VA Hospital in Seattle and for the Seattle Symphony.

He is survived by his wife Joan and their dog Amanda; his two surviving sons, Jeffrey Meyer of Seattle, and Jeremy Meyer of Broomfield, Colo.; and his brother, Ralph Meyer of Minnesota; and his grandchildren, Kristina Hallett of Everett; and Abigail Meyer, Julia Meyer, and Kathryn Meyer, all of Broomfield. He was preceded in death by his son Thomas Meyer; his sister Mavis Haselbush; and his mother and father, Orlo and Clara Meyer.

Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.Evergreen-Washelli.com for the Meyer family.