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Thomas I. Meyer, 71, of Heritage Harbour, formerly of Severna Park, died Oct. 4 at the Spa Creek Center, Genesis ElderCare, after a lengthy illness. He had retired in 1994 due to acute degenerative osteoarthritis.

Born Aug. 14, 1934, and reared in Teaneck, N.J., Mr. Meyer attended Marquette University High School and Marquette University in Milwaukee. He worked for Rockwell Manufacturing in Pittsburgh while attending Duquesne University.

Following graduation, he worked for Westinghouse Electric Corp. In 1962 he was transferred to the Westinghouse Oceanic Undersea Division in Annapolis, where he was an analytical chemist and an engineer. In 1981 he received a certificate in material engineering from Catholic University of America.

In 1987 he transferred to DESCO/TECOM, where he was the materials engineer for construction of aerostats and airships.

At Westinghouse, he and his team researched and developed projects that led to four patents and numerous disclosures, which were kept by the Navy as trade secrets and turned down for patents because of security reasons.

President of Meyer and Associates in Sea Technology Inc., he and a business partner received a patent on a fire safety device.

He created and edited the Materials and Standards Manual for Westinghouse from 1969 to 1987. He also was on the advisory board and critiqued articles for publication in Chemical Week and Materials Engineering magazines. He belonged to the American Chemical Society, the American Institute of Chemists and the District of Columbia Institute of Chemists.

Mr. Meyer was an officer and committee member of the Magothy River Coast Guard Auxiliary 01-08, where he volunteered for 41 years, and was a 29-year member of the Annapolis Yacht Club, where he was instrumental in reviving the Cruising Club. He called the finish line for the yacht races on Wednesday evenings and on winter Sunday afternoons during the Frostbite Series.

He was a member of the Model A Ford Club of Greater Baltimore, the Model A Restorers Club, the Friendship Veterans Association of Westinghouse Retirees and Annapolis Elks Lodge 622. Because of his big full beard, he filled in for Santa Claus for many years at the company's Christmas parties for children.

Surviving are his wife, Ann Spreng Puzzini Meyer, whom he married in November 1987; two daughters, Anne McFadden of Grasonville and Maureen Steinhouse of Virginia Beach, Va.; one son, Thomas G. Meyer of Bowie; six grandchildren; one stepdaughter, Elizabeth Puzzini Glantz of Pittsburgh; one stepson, Frank A. Puzzini Jr. of Atlanta; and five step-grandchildren.

He was the son of the late Irving Gore Meyer and Katherine Schiettinger Meyer, and was formerly married to Patricia Maloney Huber of Pittsburgh and Annapolis.

Visitation will be from 3 to 6 p.m. Sunday and from 2 to 4 and 6 to 8 p.m. Monday at Barranco and Sons Severna Park Funeral Home, 495 Ritchie Highway. A funeral service will be held at 11:30 a.m. Tuesday at St. John Neumann Catholic Church, 620 N. Bestgate Ave. Burial will be at a later date in Beaverkill Cemetery in Rockland, N.Y.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Hospice of the Chesapeake, 445 Defense Highway, Annapolis, MD 21401, or the Coast Guard Mutual Assistance Fund, 4200 Wilson Blvd., Suite 610, Arlington, VA 22203-1804.  Online Condolences may be made at the funeral home's website: www.barrancofuneralhome.com

As published in The Capital Newspaper on 10/7/2005