Gerald Meyer spent his final hours doing what he loved most–flying model airplanes.
Last week, after competing in the National Aeromodeling Racing Championships in Muncie, Ind., Mr. Meyer was preparing to head home with his wife of 44 years, Phyllis. He had placed fourth in the competition and was thrilled to have found a buyer for three of his prize planes, all of which he had made himself.
“He was on cloud nine, just where you’d always find him after he’d finished flying his planes and hanging out with other fly guys,” his wife said. “But somehow I think he suspected something was up, because he’d told a friend of ours that this would be his last match.”
Mr. Meyer, 67, of North Aurora, a retired heating and air conditioning installer, died Tuesday, July 8, in Muncie after apparently suffering a heart attack.
Born in Florence, Kan., Mr. Meyer grew up in Aurora, where he showed a fascination with flight from the time he was 4.
His creativity in building toy planes out of odds and ends found in the back yard amazed his parents.
“He built planes out of everything and anything, mostly by tearing wooden crates apart and using sticks he’d find lying around,” his wife said. “The other kids loved him, because there was always a new plane to play with.”
In his teens, Mr. Meyer set aside model planes for automobiles and the thrill of customizing and racing cars. For several years, he raced and was part of a pit crew at Oswego Drag Strip. He also was a member of the Aurora Audets racing club.
“He loved racing but also knew it was a young man’s sport,” his wife said. “As he got older, it got harder and harder to keep up with.”
After the birth of his children, Mr. Meyer returned to model planes.
He shared his flying hobby with his son, Greg, who later took up car racing and competed at Oswego.
Since the late 1960s, Mr. Meyer competed and placed in dozens of model-airplane competitions across the country. He raced with both remote-control planes and wire-control planes, which he built himself.
Last month Mr. Meyer received an award from Sig Manufacturing Co., a model airplane manufacturer, for his contributions to the sport.
“It made him a little sad that kids today don’t have the same interest in model airplanes, what with Game Boys and all those other computer gadgets,” his wife said. “It wasn’t so much the planes as the camaraderie of the sport that he felt they were missing out on.”
Mr. Meyer worked at Youngren’s Heating and Air Conditioning in Aurora from the mid-1960s until his retirement five years ago. He excelled at custom installations and could handle nearly any assignment regardless of the complexities.
“After he retired, he stayed on as a consultant with the company,” his wife said. “From time to time they’d have questions on restoring old installations that only he could answer.”
Mr. Meyer was a member of several flying clubs, including Fox Valley Barn Stormers in Aurora, Tree Town Modelairs in Downers Grove and a group of enthusiasts at Fermilab in Batavia.
He also was a member of Turner’s Club and Tiger Club, both of Aurora.
Other survivors include two daughters, Lianne Kaar and Dawn Jarka; two brothers, Ron and Wallace Bartlett; two sisters, Marilyn Miller and Karen Bartlett; and eight grandchildren.
Visitation will be held from 3 to 8 p.m. Sunday in Conley Funeral Home, 116 W. Pierce St., Elburn. Services will be held at 10 a.m. Monday in Community Congregational Church, Shannon Street and Illinois Highway 47, Elburn.
