Roger Allen Meyer, M.D., age 92, passed away in Bradenton on May 1, 2025. He was born in Heron Lake, Minnesota, on August 4, 1932, and grew up in Owatonna, Minnesota. Dr. Meyer received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Grinnell College in Grinnell, Iowa, a Doctor of Medicine degree from the University of Minnesota and completed an internship at Duval Medical Center in Jacksonville, Florida. This was followed by a three-year tour of duty in the Navy as a Flight Surgeon detached to the Marines. He then completed a three-year residency in ophthalmology at The University of Kansas School of Medicine.
He said he traveled south until the signs on the highway no longer said, "Bridge freezes before roadway". In 1965 Dr. Meyer moved to Bradenton, Florida, where he joined Dr. Robert E. King to establish the Manatee Eye Clinic, now known as Coastal Eye Institute. He and 29 other physicians founded Blake Memorial Hospital in 1973. He was President of the Manatee County Medical Society in 1979, on the Board of the United Way 1988-1991, an organizing member of the Manatee County Young Republicans and a member of Christ Episcopal Church.
Dr. Meyer treasured the times he was able to spend fishing and boating, including his many trips to the Florida Keys with his fishing friends. After his retirement in 1994, he and his wife enjoyed visiting family from Maine to California, tourists traveling all over the world and resting at their beloved log cabin on Lake Chatuge in North Carolina, where family and friends often visited them. He was a member of the American Legion and the Brotherhood of the Coast.
Dr. Meyer's parents, Julius Henry Meyer and Marie lona Moriarty Meyer, his first wife, Dorothy Johnson Meyer, and his brother, Douglas Lane Meyer, predeceased him. Survivors include his wife of 41 years, Judith Smith Meyer; children Susan Elizabeth Nastasic (Zorki) of Scaly Mountain, NC, Ann Marie Ward (Bob) of Atlanta, GA and Richard Allen Meyer (Lisa) of Tampa, FL; stepchildren Stacey Robin Poston (Wendy) of Durham, NC and David Eric Poston of New York City, NY; grandchildren Zoran Aleksandar Nastasic, Cody Malisha Nastasic, Caroline Elizabeth Ward, Annabel Grace Ward, M.D., Elizabeth Meyer Rogers (Lane) and Richard Austin Meyer; nieces Sharon Meyer Kunz (Kyle), Jeanne Meyer Bradshaw (James), nephew Jay Meyer (Rebecca); numerous great nieces and nephews and great-great nieces and nephews, and several cousins.
A graveside ceremony will be held at the Sarasota National Cemetery at a later date. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Manatee Community Foundation, Manatee County Medical Education Foundation Scholarship Fund, 2820 Manatee Ave W, Bradenton, FL 34205.
Brown & Sons Funeral Homes & Crematory 43rd Street Chapel, 604 43rd Street West, Bradenton, FL 34209, is in charge of arrangements.
