Obituary of Francis J. Meyer

Francis J. Meyer, Ph.D - Fran, to the many who knew and loved him - passed away peacefully on the morning of December 26, 2024.

Fran was born in New Orleans, Louisiana, and was a proud graduate of Jesuit High School and Loyola University New Orleans. He intended to pursue a career as a pharmacist - a plan hatched while working the night shift in a pharmacy in the French Quarter. But guidance from what would be the first of several mentors sent Fran out of state and in search of higher education. He went on to get a Ph.D in pharmacology from the University of Maryland.

Fran had an impressive career, spanning industry, academia, venture capital and consulting. He worked as an executive at a Johnson & Johnson subsidiary, led technology development offices at Johns Hopkins and UNC Chapel Hill, taught at Kenan-Flagler Business School, and served as an advisor and executive-in-residence to several venture funds. It was an illustrious career and somehow, it was also the least important thing about Fran to those lucky enough to know him.

Fran had a smile and a genuine kindness that warmed every room he walked into. He was fun, social, curious, and deeply interested in getting to know people beyond small talk. Fran could often be spotted at gatherings pulling up a chair alongside someone he didn’t know and engaging them in a way that brought even the most reticent forth from their shell to tell their stories. Fran’s was a true gift of connection, and everyone who met him for more than a moment felt it.

Despite his professional success and responsibilities, Fran retained throughout his life a childlike sense of wonder, adventure, and simple joy. He loved walking on beaches and tramping woods, tending gardens, and caring for animals, watching hockey (especially the Flyers), and listening to music (especially Ray Charles). He also enjoyed indulging a mischievous streak in occasionally exploring construction sites and other off-limits places; if his Chapel Hill neighbors only knew how many of their houses Fran investigated before they ever moved in …

But to know Fran, finally, was to know him in context of the people he held most dear: his friends and family. Fran kept to the end of his days a cherished circle of friends from all different times of his life. When golf and lunches out were no longer an option, these friends continued to share their time and love with Fran, who never lost his joy in the company of others. And to those friends, please know how thankful Fran was and his family is for you.

The still center of Fran’s busy and wonderful life, though, was his family.

Fran was the youngest of three children, and was predeceased by his beloved sister, Joan Meyer Heyd Morais, and brother, Joseph Meyer. Fran was a loving brother-in-law to Sandra Meyer and devoted uncle to his many nieces and nephews. He treasured the opportunities to see his extended family, and after he passed, several of Fran’s nieces and nephews confided that they always regarded him as “the cool uncle.” We think Fran would have laughed and quietly loved that.

Fran had two children of whom he was immensely proud: his son, John Meyer of Miami, and his daughter Christine Meyer Mazzone (Erik) of Raleigh.

Fran was the father to John and Chris that he promised himself he would be as a young man; coaching baseball and hockey, occasionally disastrous sailing expeditions on Lake Cayuga, long weekend days exploring the coves of the Chesapeake Bay aboard the Sea Jay, quiet fall walks and a lifetime of love and guidance that they will both miss every day. Fran was a father that John and Christine were truly blessed to call their Pop.

Fran also had two grand-daughters that were the apple of his eye during his later years. Luci Meyer of New York City and Flora Meyer of Charleston, both by way of Miami, received every ounce of grandfatherly love and adoration that Fran had to give. He loved “the girls” beyond measure and they were truly the light of his autumn and winter years.

But in the end, to understand Fran’s life, you can only do so alongside Patti, his beloved wife of 57 years. It’s insufficient to say that to Fran, Patti hung the moon. Patti was his moon and his stars. Wife, mother, friend, and partner in all things - words fail to convey how completely Fran loved, cherished, and depended on Patti. Patti took incredible care of Fran, including through his final months. Day in, day out, Patti steadfastly cared for Fran in every way he needed. Even as the ravages of time and disease slowly stole his memory, Fran never stopped recognizing Patti and smiling whenever she walked in the room, so elemental was she to him.

Fran’s passing leaves the world with a hole. It’s missing a bit of kindness and warmth and adventure and joy without him in it. And it’s missing his smile.

Fran would want all of us to take up our small part now to help fill in that hole, by adding a little kindness, warmth and adventure of our own in his absence. And our smiles.

A funeral Mass will be held for Fran at St. Thomas More Catholic Church in Chapel Hill, NC, on January 17, 2025 at 1:00 pm (and live-streamed on www.stmchapelhill.org). A reception will be held immediately following in the Club Center at Carolina Meadows Retirement Community in Chapel Hill.

In lieu of flowers, please consider donating to:

Alzheimer’s Association - www.alz.org

The Charles House Association - https://charleshouse.org/

Arrangements are in the care of Walker’s Funeral Homes in Chapel Hill, NC. Online condolences may be shared at https://www.walkersfuneralservice.com.