Chucky and I were childhood neighbors and close friends. I lost track of him when I was overseas in the Army, but around 1980, my Mother ran into his Mother while shopping and I found out he was living in Austin, Texas, with his wife, Debbie, working as a Hospital Chaplain. I made a special trip to Austin, sadly to learn that Debbie had died and that Chucky was grieving deeply but trusted his faith to survive the ordeal. Later, Chucky remarried, and when his second wife became ill he would drive her to her medical appointments in Houston. It was during one of these trips that both Chucky and his second wife perished. So, I remember Chucky as a selfless teacher of God's endless love. He gave endlessly to anyone in need. His wisdom and love for all made life a little brighter. God bless you Chucky and Debbie, I hope to see you again someday. I never met Chucky's second wife, but hold the same respect and sympathy for her, Chucky was an open and loving person--his second wife had to be just like him too! My faith tells me that we shall all meet again. So, Keep the Faith! :-)
The two detective-priests were the creation of The Rev (Richard) Charles Meyer (1947 - 2000) who was himself an ordained Episcopal priest who served as vice president of operations and director of pastoral care at St David's Hospital in Austin, Texas, a town "where the only organized crime .... is the bus system". He was one of quite a group of crime writers living in Austin, Texas (others included Sharon Kahn and Jan Maxwell). Austin, acording to a character in one of the books, was "the liberal mecca of the state where it was joked that everyone was either a writer, a singer or a healer".
Meyer spent twenty years ministering to dying patients as a hospital chaplain and published five books on death and dying, a subject on which he became an acknowledged expert. Known as "Chuck" to his friends, he had a reputation of being able to combine all this demanding work with and about the dying, with a sense of humor.
He had also spent ten years working in a New York prison and a Texas jail. He used this experience for his four detective novels, three of them featuring Rev Lucas Holt, and the last one, Deathangel (completed just before his death), featuring The Rev Matt Beck. He was killed in a traffic accident in 2000, when an oncoming vehicle drove into him across the highway while he was taking his wife to hospital for her leukemia treatment. Only she survived the accident.
He was posthumously awarded the degree of Doctor of Divinity by the Episcopal Theological Seminary of the South West where he was described "as simply a good person, an exemplary teacher at the seminary, and a model of the ministry of compassion".
Chuck's name was Richard Charles Meyer. We had lots of discussions about religion and since we were each president of our respective youth groups, we had the groups meet and discuss topics of interest.
When we were sophomores, we were class officers. Chuck was VP and I was Secretary. For some reason we wrote funny (?) scripts for the announcements to be read on Fridays. We thought they were hilarious! Chuck was "John" and I was "Martha".
He sent me copies of his books, and I looked forward to reconnecting at our reunions. I was so sad to hear he had died. He was such a thoughtful person with a great sense of humor. I miss him!
During high school Chuck was a very dear friend (and boyfriend for several months when he and Debbie had temporarily broken up). In addition to our frequent discussions about philosophy and religion, I went to church with him once, which was a fascinating experience for a Jewish girl raised in an Orthodox synagogue and because he was struggling to develop his own religious identity at the time. It was devastating to find out when and how he died; I will remember and miss him forever.
James Myers
Chucky and I were childhood neighbors and close friends. I lost track of him when I was overseas in the Army, but around 1980, my Mother ran into his Mother while shopping and I found out he was living in Austin, Texas, with his wife, Debbie, working as a Hospital Chaplain. I made a special trip to Austin, sadly to learn that Debbie had died and that Chucky was grieving deeply but trusted his faith to survive the ordeal. Later, Chucky remarried, and when his second wife became ill he would drive her to her medical appointments in Houston. It was during one of these trips that both Chucky and his second wife perished. So, I remember Chucky as a selfless teacher of God's endless love. He gave endlessly to anyone in need. His wisdom and love for all made life a little brighter. God bless you Chucky and Debbie, I hope to see you again someday. I never met Chucky's second wife, but hold the same respect and sympathy for her, Chucky was an open and loving person--his second wife had to be just like him too! My faith tells me that we shall all meet again. So, Keep the Faith! :-)
Regards,
Jim Myers Colonel, US Army (Retired)
Chuck Johnson
Chuck was one of the nicest guys I knew at Woodward. He was also a very talented author. From http://www.detecs.org/holt1.html:
The two detective-priests were the creation of The Rev (Richard) Charles Meyer (1947 - 2000) who was himself an ordained Episcopal priest who served as vice president of operations and director of pastoral care at St David's Hospital in Austin, Texas, a town "where the only organized crime .... is the bus system". He was one of quite a group of crime writers living in Austin, Texas (others included Sharon Kahn and Jan Maxwell). Austin, acording to a character in one of the books, was "the liberal mecca of the state where it was joked that everyone was either a writer, a singer or a healer".
Meyer spent twenty years ministering to dying patients as a hospital chaplain and published five books on death and dying, a subject on which he became an acknowledged expert. Known as "Chuck" to his friends, he had a reputation of being able to combine all this demanding work with and about the dying, with a sense of humor.
He had also spent ten years working in a New York prison and a Texas jail. He used this experience for his four detective novels, three of them featuring Rev Lucas Holt, and the last one, Deathangel (completed just before his death), featuring The Rev Matt Beck. He was killed in a traffic accident in 2000, when an oncoming vehicle drove into him across the highway while he was taking his wife to hospital for her leukemia treatment. Only she survived the accident.
He was posthumously awarded the degree of Doctor of Divinity by the Episcopal Theological Seminary of the South West where he was described "as simply a good person, an exemplary teacher at the seminary, and a model of the ministry of compassion".
Denni Linder (Glick)
Chuck's name was Richard Charles Meyer. We had lots of discussions about religion and since we were each president of our respective youth groups, we had the groups meet and discuss topics of interest.
When we were sophomores, we were class officers. Chuck was VP and I was Secretary. For some reason we wrote funny (?) scripts for the announcements to be read on Fridays. We thought they were hilarious! Chuck was "John" and I was "Martha".
He sent me copies of his books, and I looked forward to reconnecting at our reunions. I was so sad to hear he had died. He was such a thoughtful person with a great sense of humor. I miss him!
Hope Hartman
During high school Chuck was a very dear friend (and boyfriend for several months when he and Debbie had temporarily broken up). In addition to our frequent discussions about philosophy and religion, I went to church with him once, which was a fascinating experience for a Jewish girl raised in an Orthodox synagogue and because he was struggling to develop his own religious identity at the time. It was devastating to find out when and how he died; I will remember and miss him forever.