Alan H. Meyer

Alan H. Meyer, 89, of Kankakee passed away peacefully on November 22, 2023, at Riverside Hospital. Alan was born on November 2, 1934, in Beecher, IL to Gustave and Velma (nee Graves) Meyer. He graduated from Grant Park High School in 1952. Grant Park is where he developed his love for basketball. He was starting guard for 3 years for the Grant Park Dragons. During that time the Dragons won 59 games and lost only 20 games. From Grant Park Alan was recruited to play for Illinois State University. As an ISU Redbird, he thrived as a scoring guard. He captained the Redbirds his junior and senior years and set the single game scoring record of 51 points. That record stood until Doug Collins broke it in 1972. At ISU he met the love of his life, Jane (nee Thompson) Meyer. On June 10, 1956, a day after graduating, they were married. They moved to Baltimore, MD where Alan was stationed in the Army. They returned to Illinois to begin teaching careers in Peotone. Alan taught History, was the athletic director and the head baseball and basketball coach from 1959-1963. In the early 60’s, Alan began working for his father-in-law, William Thompson, who had begun opening several restaurants called the Redwood Inn. In 1964, Alan & Jane became the operators of the Kankakee location. As Jane Meyer once said, “This is a family run establishment and the people working with us and the people we serve are part of our family.” Jane & Alan both believed that this core philosophy allowed them to run a flourishing business for 34 years. Alan was an active volunteer in the Kankakee Community. He served as President of the United Way and was chairman of several campaign drives. He was a board member of the Kankakee Chamber of Commerce, the Convention and Visitors Bureau, Hospice and the Kankakee Basketball Holiday Tournament. Alan was a strong supporter of the Kankakee YMCA. He joined as a board member in 1972. Over the years he served as membership drive chairman and in every office of the board of directors and every YMCA committee, and in the capital campaigns. He served as President for 2 years and in 1991 was the recipient of the Blitz Award for his commitments to volunteerism. Alan loved to follow Chicago sports, but his greatest joy and frustration came from watching the Chicago Cubs. He would travel by train to Wrigley Field as a young boy and was fortunate to see Jackie Robinson play in his first series in Chicago. He also witnessed the 500th career home run of Ernie Banks. And after many up and down years he finally got to see them win a World Series in 2016. Alan was a loving father to Lynn (Greg) Cornwell and Tamra (Jeff Compton) McNamara. Bepaw loved his grandsons, Justin (April) Cornwell, Adam (Amanda) Cornwell, Aaron Cornwell, Ryan McNamara, Tyler (Hannah) McNamara, and his great grandchildren Jace, Callie, and Emerson McNamara, Miles, Cecilia, and Emily Cornwell. Alan is preceded in death by his wife Jane, brother Hollis Meyer and his great granddaughter Kaia Cornwell. Memorial visitation will be held from 11:00 a.m. until the time of the 1:00 p.m. memorial service on Saturday, December 2, 2023, at Clancy-Gernon-Hertz Funeral Home, Kankakee. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the Kankakee YMCA.

Alan H. Meyer

November 2, 1934 - November 22, 2023