The Craigpark community will be the poorer after the passing away of Roland “Roly” Meyer, a stalwart member of the residents association, on 16 June.
Meyer’s son Julian paid tribute to his father and described him as one who “managed to live life to the full”.
Meyer was born on 8 August 1924 in a Mountain View house which had an outside toilet, and also had a cow named Daisy to provide milk.
The blue-eyed baby was raised by a French governess called Gaga, and in 1926 the family moved to Iona, a grand home on the Houghton ridge.
Julian said his father shared a special bond with his brother Thomas, and together the two got up to many pranks as children.
During the Second World War, Meyer served in the Royal Navy as a signal man. His connection to the navy continued in the South African Navy, where he served as a doctor at SAS Rand Naval base.
Meyer married Jill in 1951 and they had three children, Julian, Hazel and Christine.
“He pursued a career as a general practitioner as he had an incredible 6th sense for diagnosis. He was also the much-loved visiting doctor to Kingsmead College, where he looked after staff and boarders for many years,” said Julian.
Roly was a devoted father and spent many hours with his children, building go-karts and greenhouses, and helping them with various projects.
“In his retirement, Roly kept busy with the Logwood Ranch community and he was very active with the Craigpark Residents Association, hounding out illegal developments,” said Julian. “He was always around as a dad or grandpa, ready to help stitch up children and attend to sore throats and appendicitis. He was also a very social, active and sporty person, and he enjoyed his tennis and bowls clubs where he had what he called his support group.
“He was always cheerful and ready with a witty quip. Roly made people feel good to be around him. We’ll miss his trademark white Porsche roaring around the suburbs. He left an incredible legacy, and his loving memory will endure.”
