Editorial

Meyer, McDougall made large impact on Southeast Mo.

Last week, two men who made a big difference in Southeast Missouri passed away.

Thomas L. Meyer, 98, died of natural causes on March 6, and Gerald McDougall, 71, died March 5 "while comfortably watching CNN and waiting to meet a dear friend for dinner. He passed so peacefully, we are certain it was from natural causes and not from the reporting of the current political climate," according to his obituary.

Our thoughts and prayers go out to the families and friends of both men.

Meyer served as a master training sergeant in the Army Air Corps in World War II from 1941 to 1945 before receiving his real estate license in 1946. He became an entrepreneur four years later and began Thomas L. Meyer Realty in Cape Girardeau. He was the longest-licensed Realtor Broker in the state of Missouri and was responsible for bringing Procter & Gamble, Armstrong Cork, Dow Chemical and Wood & Huston Bank to the Cape Girardeau area, and along with Al Zimmer, Harry Schmidt and Charles Drury, was influential in the relocation and building of Saint Francis Medical Center in 1975.

Aside from his professional life, Meyer created prayer bracelets out of the plant seed Job's tears. He numbered and tracked each bracelet, more than 5,000, with names and addresses, with some as far as Europe. He also was a pilot and transported organs and prematurely born children to hospitals, as well as picked up costumes for Notre Dame Regional High School plays that wouldn't have made it on time otherwise.

He also held many leadership positions within the community, including as a board member at Saint Francis Hospital and the Cape Girardeau Chamber of Commerce, Cape Girardeau School Board president and countless others.

McDougall, a California native who held degrees from California State University-Chico and Claremont Graduate University (doctorate degree), was the professor of economics for Wichita State University for 19 years prior to arriving at Southeast Missouri State University in 1993. At Southeast, he began the Masters of Business Administration and Masters of Organization Behavior programs, established the Center of Economic Research and Development and helped established the Catapult Creative House.

"For all these accomplishments, he would have downplayed his role and given credit to those working with him," it said in his obituary, which noted he went by "Grumpy" to his five grandchildren.

We're thankful for the contributions these two men made to our community and the lives of many. They will be greatly missed.

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