Robert Earl Meierer

September 27, 1943 - May 27, 2019

Obituary For Robert Earl Meierer

Robert Earl Meierer, 75, of Durham, North Carolina, died May 27, 2019. He was born in Niagara Falls, New York, on September 27, 1943, son of the late Ralph and Jean Meierer.

Bob grew up and went to school in western New York (Niagara Falls). After high school he attended State University of New York at Buffalo. After graduating with a Bachelor’s Degree in Chemistry, he was employed at Linde Division of Union Carbide as a Development Chemist, where he met his wife, Kathy. He was then hired as a Development Chemist for Carborundum. After a short stint in Sacramento, CA, he then took a job with CompuChem Laboratories in Raleigh as a Quality Assurance Manager for the next 20+ years. After a brief retirement he took a job with WearCheck until he took a position with NSI Solutions, where he worked three days a week up until April.

Bob and Kathy married on August 10, 1968 and got to celebrate their 50th anniversary in 2018. Bob enjoyed racquetball, golf, loved a good bottle of wine and spending time with family and friends. He was a founding parishioner of St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Church and was a Eucharist minister and greeter.

He is survived by his two sons, Joe (Jennifer) of Clayton, NC and Tim (Tonya) of Charlotte, NC; grandchildren, Jacob, Sam, Avery, Luke and Ryan. He is also survived by two siblings, Ralph (Karen) and Marie (Roger); many nieces and nephews; brother-in-law to Shirley and Earl Cox (New York), Sharon and Paul Finlayson (Venice, FL), and Margaret (Peggy) Borden (Durham, NC). Bob, together with Kathy, has been caring for Peggy for the past 25 years. He was truly kind and compassionate in all that he did for her.

A visitation will be held at 10:00 a.m. on Saturday, June 29, 2019 at St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Church of Raleigh followed by a mass at 11:00 a.m. with a columbarium rite of committal immediately following. A luncheon will be held at the church following the committal ceremony.

In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to the American Red Cross, https://www.redcross.org/donate/donation.html/, in honor of his many years of service as a loyal blood donor.

Services

29 Jun

Visitation

10:00 AM - 10:45 PM

St. Francis of Assisi R.C. Church 11401 Leesville Road RALEIGH, NC 27613 Get Directions »

29 Jun

Memorial Service

11:00 AM

St. Francis of Assisi R.C. Church 11401 Leesville Road RALEIGH, NC 27613 Get Directions »

29 Jun

Rite of Committal

12:00 PM

St. Francis Of Assisi, Columbarium 11401 Leesville Rd Raleigh, NC 27613 Get Directions »

29 Jun

Reception

12:30 PM

St. Francis of Assisi R.C. Church 11401 Leesville Road RALEIGH, NC 27613 Get Directions »

by Obituary Assistant

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Condolences

September 01, 2020

Roger Wible

Bob was a very good friend for more than 45 years and was a loyal and loving family member. He will be sadly missed by all. Much love to Kathy and the family. Love, Roger Wible.
September 01, 2020

Edna Churchill

I've worked with Bob in CompuChem & Wearcheck, USA since 1990. He is very kindhearted, very friendly and well liked by everybody. Every year on our birthdays, he leaves a birthday greetings message by singing a HAPPY BIRTHDAY song on our phones. I will surely miss you Bob and everyone in our Company especially your birthday song. Our thoughts & prayers are with Kathy and your family. Love, Edna Churchill.
September 01, 2020

Manhar Amin

After moving to NC in 1983, Bob kindly offered me a job in Standard Lab after joining CompuChem. As a manager, Bob always treated me like a friend and provided guidance whenever I walked in to his office. I learned from Bob how to prepare complicated standards. When I had a heart attack in 2000, Bob stopped by the hospital two or three times to see how I was doing. After my retirement, Bob and I stayed in touch by exchanging birthday wishes. We exchanged Christmas greetings every year. Bob will be in our hearts and memories forever. My thoughts and prayers are with you during this difficult time. Manhar R. Amin Boston
September 01, 2020

Jennifer Walken

Kathy, Bob, Peggy and family were our dear neighbors in Valley Estates for many years. Their marriage and character have been exemplary of love, devotion, friendship, and gratitude. They are two of the finest people I have ever known. Their devotion to each other, family and friends surpasses most. Bob will be missed. He was a Godly man loved by many. I love this family. My heartfelt prayers go out to each of you.
September 01, 2020

Patrick Sills

Tim - Our hearts go out to you and your entire family during this difficult time. I know your Dad will be greatly missed by those that knew and loved him. We wish you all continued peace and strength in the days and years to come.
September 01, 2020

Jennifer Walken

Kathy, Bob and family were our dear neighbors in Valley Estates for many years. Their marriage and character have been exemplary of love, devotion, friendship and gratitude. They are two of the finest people I know. Their devotion to each other, family and friends surpasses most. Bob will be missed. He was a Godly man loved by many. I love this family. My heartfelt prayers go out to each of you.
September 01, 2020

Bob W

Bob was my manager and mentor for the first third of my career, and impacted my life in so many positive ways. After stepping in a few times in those early years to save me from myself, he patiently imparted just enough guidance and wisdom to allow me to eventually summon those skills on my own. As a manager, parent, or even total stranger, I've caught myself many times through life saying or doing something that was plucked directly from Bob's playbook. He was an outstanding scientist, but I've often thought he would have made a great teacher or judge as well. He was able to size up information and situations from all angles, and explain so logically and clearly why one answer or option was better than another. In the course of showing you how your interpretation was flawed, you not only learned the right answer but the right method for deriving it on your own the next time. His analytical skills were frequently applied to inch-thick publications of proposed Federal standards on environmental sampling, testing and quality control, and his written comments would nearly always result in a revision to the government's proposal. This happened so frequently in the early years of environmental analysis that the EPA began giving Bob the first crack at an early draft, well before it was distributed for public comment. When he was done with the first pass, I would review his handwritten comments in the margins, and in this way was able to see exactly what he was looking for and how he measured his wording to address the author's viewpoint persuasively but respectfully. His fingerprints are all over the EPA's Contract Laboratory Program (Superfund) test methods -- methods that were emulated in many other environmental testing programs from that point forward. During those years at the lab, Bob dutifully called every year to sing happy birthday, and when I eventually moved to a different job I began calling other employees as well as my own brothers. My brothers now do this w