As a psychologist, Bonny Meyer dedicated her life to helping hundreds of Chicago-area children battle mental illness, emotional problems and learning disabilities.
Mrs. Meyer, 66, died of breast cancer Thursday, Oct. 28, surrounded by family in her Evanston home, said daughter Mari Lagone.
“That was her life’s work, to help others,” her daughter said. “She always wanted to do for others. She was a very selfless person.”
Lagone said her mother was known as an exceptional listener who offered guidance without judgment to family and friends, as well as the children she treated. She worked for 10 years at Mercy Hospital and Medical Center in Chicago and for 18 years as a school psychologist for Northbrook School District 27.
Born in Youngstown, Ohio, the former Bonny Scanlon grew up on Chicago’s South Side and graduated from St. Aquinas High School. She received an undergraduate degree in psychology from Creighton University in Nebraska and her graduate degree in human development from Cornell University in New York.
Mrs. Meyer worked for about 10 years at Mercy Hospital, where she met her husband, her boss and fellow psychologist Marv Meyer. They fell in love doing home and school visits for troubled children and teens.
“She was a very sensitive, extremely bright girl,” her husband said. “Although I was her boss, I learned more from her than she did from me.”
Mrs. Meyer paused her career to stay at home and raise their daughters, Lagone and Julie Meyer. Her husband said she was also a good friend to stepchildren Ken and Ann Meyer.
In 1993, Mrs. Meyer became a school psychologist at Hickory Point School and Grove School in Northbrook, mainly helping students with learning disabilities.
Her husband said her greatest joy was finding a solution to children’s academic struggles.
Relatives said she continued to work as she battled cancer for the last 18 months and didn’t stop until about a week before her death.
“She didn’t want it to be in the forefront of people’s minds,” Lagone said. “She wanted to be there for the kids.”
An avid reader, Mrs. Meyer loved mystery novels — her favorites were by John Grisham and Scott Turow — and almost always had her Kindle in-hand.
She and her husband also loved to go fishing, sometimes on Lake Michigan in their boat “The Happy Crab,” sometimes fly-fishing for trout in various rivers of the Pacific Northwest, Michigan and Wisconsin. They loved to compete to see who could catch more.
Other survivors include her sister, Judy Grant, and brother, James Scanlon.
Visitation will be held from 3:30 to 9 p.m. Monday in Donnellan Family Funeral Home, 10045 Skokie Blvd., Skokie. Mass will be celebrated at 10 a.m. Tuesday in St. Joseph Catholic Church, 1747 Lake Ave., Wilmette.
