John F. Meyers, Ph.D., 74

Published 10:15 am Tuesday, May 19, 2015

John F. Meyers, Ph.D., “Jack,” 74, of Mountain Top, Pennsylvania, died Tuesday following a brief, yet hard-fought battle with lung cancer.

Jack was born Feb. 25, 1941, in LeRoy, Minnesota, a son of the late Francis Rudolph and Lucille A. Carroll Meyers. Jack earned his B.A. from the University of Minnesota, M.A. from Clark University and Ph.D. from the University of Southern Mississippi.

Jack retired as Registrar of Wilkes University in 2001. At Wilkes, Jack was known as a trouble shooter and understood the school so well that he was called upon to play varied roles when special needs arose throughout his career. As such, through his tenure he served in many positions including dean of admissions, associate dean of academic affairs, director of graduate programs, director of summer, evening and part-time programs, director of continuing education, director of weekend programs, a program which he started there, and even served as freshman basketball coach for the 1970-1971 season. As a specialist in American colonial history and the American early national period, he was most proud of his role as a teacher and advisor. He truly enjoyed his years at Wilkes and always had a story about something that happened there.

In his retirement, Jack really enjoyed golf, reading and shopping. He was a sale shopper and enjoyed finding great bargains for friends and family, particularly clothing for his grandchildren and shoes for his daughter. He also enjoyed traveling to Mississippi or Alabama each winter for the warm weather.

Jack will be greatly missed by his daughter, Lee and her husband Vinnie Pollaro and their children, Ethan and Amelia of Wellsboro; longtime companion, Mary Ann Merrigan of Hazleton, her son Eamon and his wife Leslie and their children Cami and Cavan; brother, Don Meyers of Minneapolis, Minnesota; sister, Jean and her husband Tom Clagg of Fort Wayne, Indiana; nieces, nephews, other family and friends.

A celebration of Jack’s life took place Tuesday, May 12, 2015, at McLaughlin’s, 142 South Washington Street in Wilkes-Barre and continued with a funeral mass May 13 in the Church of Saint Nicholas. Memories and condolences may be shared with Jack’s family at www.lifecelebrations.com.