Marlyn E. Meyer passed away at age 88 on 7-23-2014 survived by his wife Betty,their children Melinda,Mark,Melissa and 4 grandchildren.
Marlyn a lifelong resident of Lombard, Illinois began working part time at the Jewel Food Store in Lombard while attending high school at Glenbard North.
Following his graduation from Glenbard North in 1944 he enlisted in the US Army.
Upon his return from service in the Pacific Theater of World War II Marlyn enrolled at North Central College in Naperville where he earned his undergraduate degree in Mathematics while again working part time at the Jewel Food Store in Lombard.
Upon graduation from North Central College Marlyn was hired full time in the accounting department of the Jewel Food Stores headquarters and distribution center then located at 3617 S. Ashland in Chicago.
While working full time in accounting for Jewel Food Stores Marlyn continued his college education earning his MBA from the University Of Chicago.
Over the course of his next 35 years of service Marlyn continued to hold positions of increased responsibility in the Jewel accounting and finance departments before moving over to Store Operations as the Area Personnel Manager for the Jewel Food Stores South,West and Central Divisions.
Later Marlyn accepted the position of Manager of Office Services for the growing headquarters,manufacturing and distribution center campus in Melrose Park.
Marlyn retired from Jewel Food Stores in 1985 after an illustrious career of over 40 years of service.
However Marlyn and several other Jewel Food Store recent retirees strongly desired to remain connected with Jewel Food Stores.
With Marlyn as their chief spokesperson he presented a proposal to Ed Buron then Group Vice President Human Resources and Jim Henson then President at Jewel Food Stores to form a social club uniting all the retirees from the various divisions of Jewel Food Stores to share in their fraternal legacy.
Jim Henson agreed and in April 1987 the Jewel Food Stores Retirees Club was founded at their first gathering at the Naperville Golf Club.
The club has continued to thrive since then celebrating 27 years of service to Jewel Food Store Retirees this year.
Marlyn served as the president of the club for the first 20 years and in 1998 expanded the mission of the club to support the community outreach activities of Jewel-Osco through the formation of the Jewel-Osco Retiree Club Community Partner Volunteers.
During his busy career with Jewel Food Stores Marlyn was also very involved within his church and his community of Lombard.
Marlyn was elected and served as a trustee of the village of Lombard from 1961 to 1977.
Later Marlyn continued to serve the Village of Lombard in nonelected positions on the Police and Fire Commissions.
In 1972 Lombard honored Marlyn as their Man of the Year.
Marlyn was a charter member of the Lombard Jaycees and helped to found the YMCA in Lombard.
In 2011 Lombard honored Marlyn as the Senior Citizen of the Year.
Marlyn was a lifelong member of the First Church of Lombard,he served on their Board of Directors for 10 years and was their President in 1995.
At the recent annual luncheon of the Jewel-Osco Retirees Club on 9-16-2014 at the Empress Banquets in Addison Illinois we honored Marlyn's wife Betty and their oldest daughter Melinda as our guests with a fond series of tributes to Marlyn's legacy shared by a number of retirees who had worked for and with Marlyn over the course of their careers with Jewel Food Stores. As a further token of our appreciation Betty was presented with a bouquet of roses.
The legacy of Maryln E. Meyer will live on through his family,friends,coworkers and the lives of many others through the many organizations he touched with his caring and compassionate leadership.
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