Inventor Stanley Meyer dies
By GREGG RETTIG and KATHY EVANS
Record Staff Writers
Stanley Meyer spent the last two decades of his life working on a formula that would enable a combustion engine to run on water, as opposed to gasoline.
Although Meyer, who believed he was close to perfecting the formula, died Saturday, his water fuel cell technology is expected to be carried on by his twin brother, Stephen.
Stanley Meyer, 57, was pronounced dead at 6:20 p.m. Saturday at Mt. Carmel West Medical Center after suffering what investigators believe was a brain aneurysm. He was taken to the hospital by ambulance shortly after becoming ill at a local restaurant where he was having dinner with Stephen and two other people, his brother said.
Grove City police have cordoned off Meyer’s home and lab on Broadway.
"Given what he did for a living, there are certain circumstances that we need to look at,” GCPD Capt. Dennis Ciesinski said. "It’s the coroner’s belief that a brain aneurysm occurred, but he’s waiting until the results of the toxicology test come back before making a final ruling.”
"Officially, we’re treating it as a questionable death," he said. "It’s not been 100-percent determined how he died. That is why we want to do a full investigation.”
Meyer said he never wavered in his belief that the water fuel cell technology would work. In layman’s terms, the water fuel cell uses electrical energy to divide a water atom under a controlled means, creating energy through the electrical stress across the molecule. The hydrogen gas produced from the process actually is the energy that is used to drive the machinery. He said the cell could be retrofitted to existing engines.
Meyer also said he had been threatened several times and offered billions of dollars for his patented technology.
"How could I live with myself knowing I had all that money in the bank and knowing that I sold the technology that could save the United States. We wouldn’t be reliant on other nations for oil anymore, and we’d be saving the environment by using the water fuel cell,” Meyer said as to his reason for not selling.
Barbara Ferret, Meyer’s sister, said her brother had finally achieved his life’s work before his death.
"At the time of his death, they (Stanley and Stephen) were celebrating because they had knocked down some final roadblock," she said.
“His twin brother is an engineer and he’s been working with Stan,” Ferret said. “He lives in Minnesota, and he comes in every two weeks. He was there with him for two weeks. He will take over the Water Fuel Cell Development Center to bring it to fruition.”
Ferret said she is aware that police have cordoned off Meyer’s Broadway home, but she does not know why.
“I suppose it’s very hush-hush,” she said. “All of his patents are in there.”
Ferret said she’s “shocked” at her brother’s sudden death.
“I just didn’t plan on burying a sibling,” she said.
Stephen Meyer, who has an engineering degree from Franklin University, said once police allow him into his brother’s Broadway lab, he will have a better idea of the direction Stanley planned to take the development center.
“Sure, we talked about it, but I also want to see his notes,” Stephen said. “We were working on that resonator and we planned to test the final model within the next five weeks, and we planned on having everything ready in the next three to four months.”
Mayor Cheryl Grossman said she got to know Stanley Meyer personally “to some degree” as his plans for the Water Fuel Cell Development Center were discussed by the Grove City Planning Commission, of which she is a member.
“I think a lot of people were very excited about the possibility of his dream lab being opened up as far as the research he was doing,” she said. “I don’t know the status of that will be affected, or what other plans involved.”
He is survived by his wife, Marilyn.
Funeral arrangements are being handled through Evans Funeral Home, 4171 E. Livingston Ave. Friends may call beginning at 5:30 p.m. Thursday, with a memorial service at 6:30 p.m. Thursday.