Robert E. Meehan ’59 died on December 10, 2021, in Dunwoody, Georgia

(The following was provided by the Boston Globe on December 13, 2021)

Robert Elliott Meehan

Robert Elliott Meehan of Dunwoody, GA, (formerly of Arlington, MA) passed away on Friday, December 10, 2021, at the age of 83. Robert was born April 27, 1938, in Cambridge, MA, as the only child of the late Hilda and Garrett J Meehan. Bob attended Boston Latin School (1955) and went on to earn his bachelor’s degree from Bowdoin College (1959). He served in the US Army Security Agency from 1959 to 1961, seeing service in Fort Devens (Massachusetts), Korea, Hawaii, and Japan. After attending the MBA program at the Wharton School of Finance at the University of Pennsylvania, he joined the public accounting firm of Ernst & Ernst, where he served on their audit and tax staffs for eleven years. From 1975 to 1995 Bob was tax manager then director of taxes for APAC/Warren Brothers Company, the highway construction subsidiaries of Ashland, Inc., in Boston and Atlanta. He then joined the tax compliance group of KPMG, LLP, in Atlanta and was director of taxes for West Building Materials, tax manager for Oldcastle, Inc., and finally director of taxes for Hays Financial Consulting, LLC, until his retirement in 2008. A certified public accountant in Massachusetts and Georgia, he was a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, the Massachusetts Society of Certified Public Accountants, the Georgia Society of Certified Public Accountants, and the Tax Executives Institute. An ardent lover of classical music, Bob was a member of the Bowdoin College Glee Club and percussionist and student director of the Bowdoin College Band. At Wharton, he directed the choir at the local Catholic church. From 1965 to 1979 he was a member of the chorus and orchestra of the Philharmonic Society of Arlington in Arlington, MA. Upon moving to Atlanta he was a member and assistant conductor of the choir and the Schola Cantorum at Dunwoody’s All Saints Catholic Church. Since 1980, he has been principal timpanist of the Callanwolde Concert Band, DeKalb County’s premiere wind ensemble. Since 1983, he had been an assistant conductor of CCB, conducting many memorable performances. He retired from conducting in 2019 and was immediately appointed assistant conductor emeritus. After retirement, Robert became an avid genealogist, tracing the ancestors and history of his family back to its roots in Ireland, Scotland, Nova Scotia, England, Colonial America, and Portugal. He was able to make three trips to Ireland to visit the birthplace of his great-grandfather, connect with found cousins, and visit other sites associated with the family history. As a result of his research he obtained his Irish citizenship in 2014. He was preceded in death by his wife of fifty-five years, Mary L. Meehan. He is survived by their children: Richard Meehan (Ade) of Norcross, GA; Susan Clark (James) of Stockbridge GA; Karen Ashley (Ken) of Dunwoody GA; Jim Meehan (Lebee) of Huntsville, AL; Tom Meehan (Elizabeth) of Providence, RI; Nancy Meehan of Lilburn, GA; and Carole Oyama (Shinji) of Medford, MA; their grandchildren: Fiona and Reilly Meehan; Kevin Lee; Joshua Clark (Olivia) and April England (Chandler); Jonathan (Rachel), Noah, Meghan, and Anna Ashley; Lorcan Meehan; Garrett and Connor Meehan; Maggie Tomaszewski-Denny (Steven); and great-grandsons James and Leland Clark.