Denise S. Meyer, beloved wife of William A. Meyer, died on Saturday, March 24, 2018. She was 67.
Denise was not yet ready to die as she had too many projects that were awaiting completion. Always available at the call of a loved one or friend, she would stop whatever she was doing to help with the things other people hated. She loved to organize closets and help people move. She frequently made her considerable design and construction expertise available to friends for free, re-doing entire houses and apartments for the sheer joy of seeing their appreciation and delight in her friends faces. In addition to numerous houses and apartments, she designed and oversaw, for free, the construction of Temple Judea in Palm Beach Gardens. She also worked tirelessly on the design of the Arthur I. Meyer Jewish Academy. She also designed and supervised the construction of two spec homes in Palm Beach, designed and rebuilt the 1938 landmarked home where she died, and the 1860 carriage house of her son, AJ, in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Denise preferred to work alone, on her own schedule, often pulling all-nighters when her creativity was at its peak. Although active in many charities, she preferred to let others take the limelight as ball chairman or luncheon chair person. She was perfectly happy working behind the scenes, using her outstanding organizational skills and attention to detail to make an event or occasion truly memorable.
When her cancer was first discovered in January 2017, she started a blog on CaringBridge.org and recounted on almost a daily basis what she was going through in the hospital, in her family, in her body and, most importantly, in her mind. Although she tried chemotherapy, she refused to let it take over her brain or her beautiful hair. As it went from blonde to white, she remained as beautiful on the outside as she was on the inside. Her blogs on CaringBridge were strong, poignant, funny, and real. At her death, the site had more than 21,500 hits.
A resident of Palm Beach County for 42 years and Palm Beach for 25 years, Denise grew up in East Lansing, Michigan. She traveled the world as travel agent and then worked in the Michigan State legislative. Upon moving to Palm Beach County in 1976, she became assistant to John Sansbury, the then County Administrator. She later ran the office of lunar astronaut Ed Mitchell and subsequently started her own advertising specialties company, The Specialty Shoppe.
She is survived by her husband of 37 years, Bill; children Candice and Andrew (AJ) and his wife, Jess; brother, Randy and his wife, Maura; and her mother, Betty. In keeping with her concern for others, she donated her organs that did not have cancer and the rest of her body to science.
Funeral services will be held at the Cohen Pavilion of the Kravis Center on Tuesday, March 27, 2018 at 5:00 p.m. The family will sit Shiva at the home of Bill Meyer, 334 El Vedado Road, Palm Beach, Florida, during the day, 12 noon to 4:00 p.m., and evening, 6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. on Wednesday and Thursday, March 28th and 29th. Minyan will be at 6:30 p.m. on those days. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Arthur I. Meyer Jewish Academy: www.meyeracademy.org
Published in The Palm Beach Daily News from Mar. 25 to Mar. 27, 2018. For printable articles, please click below. Please see additional remembrances through the obituary link at the bottom of this page.
https://www.legacy.com/obituaries/palmbeachdailynews/obituary.aspx?pid=188554077
Laurel Winkel (1968)
I was saddened today to learn of Denise's passing. DeeDee (although in later years I believe she preferred Denise) and I were both members of Faith Lutheran Church on Dobie Road. Though we weren't close friends in school, our parents did suggest we attend church camp together one summer. What a ball we had.....although 'church camp' may have been a misnomer as there seemed to be a lot of dating taking place, concentrated into a single week of camp session! DeeDee and I had great fun meeting new people and enjoying typical camp activities with a little church learning thrown in on the side. I'll remember her as always smiling and eager to please those around her. I'm so sorry to learn that her life was shortened by cancer - it appears she had many more goals ahead of her. Rest well.