The People Who Knew Stan

Stan died in March 1998. The people who knew him in Grove City are now in their sixties, seventies and eighties, and most of what they remember has never been written down. This page is the archive's register of them: who has said they knew him, how, and what they said, so that they can be found and asked while they can still be asked. Where the archive already holds what a person said, the row links to it. Where it holds nothing but a name, the row says so.

It draws on two things. The first is Jim Miller's lists on IonizationX, compiled between 2011 and 2013 from the memos, the newspapers and the people he could reach: friends and family, and the visitors to the Broadway lab before 1998. The second is newer, and local. On 13 July 2026 Cody Kappes asked the Grove City Connect group on Facebook, "Anybody have any stories about Stanley Meyer? Always heard about his story but never met anyone in GC that knew him." Ninety-six comments followed, and among the hearsay were a niece, an upholsterer, a plastics salesman, two neighbours, a child who saw the slideshow, and the friend of the man who built the buggy. The thread is here; the group is public, so the post can be read without an account, though Facebook shows a guest only a handful of the comments.

Nobody on the Facebook thread was speaking for publication. What they wrote is quoted here as it stands in a public group, with the comment linked where Facebook gives it a link of its own, and anyone who would rather not be named can ask and will be taken off.

Family

Tina Ferret Jones. Niece: Stan was her mother's half-brother. Jim Miller lists a sister, Barbara Ferret.

"He was my Uncle, my Mom's half brother. I know quite a bit about it. He actually died at Mt Carmel, we were there. He did get sick at Cracker Barrel, he had just met with investors and signed a lease on a large space off 665. His foreign wife inherited all his patents which have all expired. He said to us he was always in danger of being killed, but he also said Jesus told him to build the car. He was truly the crazy inventor, he thought about things no one else even conceived. A Hollywood producer reached out to us in 2022, but nothing came of it. His twin brother is still alive as well as my Mom. Mom lives in GC, uncle Steve is in MN. Oh, his cause of death was a brain anurisium, we all still have questions." Elsewhere: "He wasn't from Grove City, but Grandview. He lived in Grove City for some years." Grove City Connect, July 2026

Fred Jones. Upholsterer; almost certainly Tina's husband.

"I covered seats in that car for him. 2 weeks before he died he used our hose to put water in the tank. He said he was meeting with oil reps about his patents." Grove City Connect

Stephen F. Meyer. Identical twin. At the Cracker Barrel table on 20 March 1998.

His six 2007 radio interviews are transcribed and checked here. Tina says he is alive and living in Minnesota. He married his high-school sweetheart, Donna, about 1962 (her maiden name may have been Everett: their daughter's obituary names an uncle, Robert Everett); they divorced in 1981 (Franklin County, 80 DR 003760). Their children were Stephen Jr. and Melinda Sue "Mindi" Meyer (1966–2023), a nurse, who went to Whetstone High School. Her obituary. Lorraine: "Steve is the one that was around him most of his life"; he fixed the family's televisions for twenty years and has since worked on retina scanning. Site; Grove City Connect; the 2019 talk

Henry "Hank" Meyer. Brother, Henry Byron Meyer, born 23 August 1936, died 26 April 2016; the owner and auctioneer of Columbus Auction. Jim Miller lists him as Henry P. Meyer; the father was also Henry, the one the birth certificate names with Marie Hessler, and the one Barbara calls "our dad".

Nothing from him in the archive yet. Jim Miller

Lorraine. Niece, Barbara's daughter, so Tina's sister or half-sister. Spoke with her mother at the 2019 conference.

"Stan was the PR guy. Steve was the mechanic." Stan said NASA had offered about four million dollars and that he would not sell out: "I'm going to trust in the Lord and this is what I need to be doing." At the funeral a stranger told her, "they can take us out right now and it'll all be gone." Stan was married twice: first to Donna, with whom he had two children, and there was a daughter, Melissa, from before that marriage; the second wife nobody in the family knew, and she lived in Bexley while Stan lived in Grove City. The records bear her out and add one: Melissa "from before" fits the child of Stan's first marriage, to Betty Saxa, which ended in 1969 with one minor child; Donna is Donna S., his second wife; and the second wife she did not know is his third, Marilyn. Stephen's wife was also a Donna, which is easy to confuse. The buggy, she says, was sold to Quad City Innovations, who have never run it; Stephen Greer had tried to buy it. The 2019 talk

Genie Antal Vinyard. Grew up next door to Stephen.

"Steve his twin brother was our neighbor when I was growing up." Grove City Connect

Betty Jane Saxa. First wife. Of Cook Road, Olmsted Falls; an Ohio State junior when their engagement was announced in September 1962; married to Stan at Olmsted Community Church on 15 June 1963. The Ohio divorce index has the marriage ending in Franklin County in 1969, with one minor child: probably the daughter Melissa whom Lorraine remembers as "from before" the marriage to Donna. She later married William Brown; her mother's obituary of 2015 names her as "Betty Jane Brown (William)".

Nothing of hers in the archive beyond the engagement and the wedding notices. The Plain Dealer; Cuyahoga County marriage index ("MEYER/STANLEY/A TO SAXA/BETTY/JANE", vol. 653, p. 330); Ohio divorce index

Donna S. Meyer. Second wife. Her maiden name is not in the holdings. The Ohio divorce index has her divorce from Stan in Franklin County in 1976, granted to her, with three minor children; they probably married between 1969 and 1971. She is the Donna of Lorraine's account below, "with whom he had two children". Not the Donna who was married to Stephen: that was a second Donna, whose divorce from Stephen was filed in Franklin County on 10 December 1980 (80 DR 003760).

The 1976 file, which would give her name before marriage, the date, and the children, has to be ordered from the Franklin County Clerk. Ohio divorce index; Franklin County Clerk of Courts (80 DR 003760)

David and Lisa Meyer. Probably Stan's children. His mother's obituary of April 1987 names eleven grandchildren: David, Lisa, Lory, Tina, Cynthia, Julie, Henry III, Douglas, Carl, Stephen Jr. and Malinda. Hank's obituary claims Cynthia, Julie, Henry, Douglas and Carl; Lory and Tina are Barbara's daughters; Stephen Jr. and Melinda are Stephen's. David and Lisa are the two left. Lisa may be the Melissa Lorraine remembers from the first marriage, which would make David one of Donna S.'s two; the divorce index counts three minor children in 1976, so the court files may hold more.

Nothing from either of them in the archive. The Columbus Dispatch, 15 April 1987; the Meyer family obituaries

Marilyn Meyer, born Marilyn M. Klott. Third wife, from 1979 until his death. Born 12 November 1945, the daughter of Ralph E. Klott (1922–2013) and Phyllis Klott; previously married to Freddie E. Wells, and married to Stan as Marilyn M. Wells in Franklin County in 1979. The wife on the death certificate ("Marilyn Klott") and in the obituary; called over to the buggy in the 1985 road-test film. She inherited the estate after about five years in probate, and died in Columbus on 29 July 2003; her service was at Evans Funeral Home with Pastor Gary Keller, as Stan's had been, and she is buried at Forest Lawn. Her father's obituary names his daughters as "Susan Corrigan and Marilyn Meyer". Find a Grave; her father.

Tina says "his foreign wife inherited all his patents." Lorraine says the family never met her, and that she lived in Bexley while Stan lived in Grove City. The story that she was born Chambers, a sister of Stephen Barrie Chambers of Xogen Power, has no support in any record of her family. Death certificate; Ohio marriage index; Franklin County Clerk of Courts (77 DM 001100); the Columbus Dispatch obituaries

Stephen Barrie Chambers. Named inventor on Xogen Power's patents, which the archive holds because they cite Stan's: US 6,126,794 and US 6,419,815, an apparatus and a method "for producing orthohydrogen and/or parahydrogen" by pulsing water between plates, and US 6,790,324, the 2004 hydrogen producing apparatus, with the same family filed in Australia and under the PCT. The first was filed on 26 June 1998, three months after Stan died. Xogen Power was a privately owned Alberta company, founded in 1998 by its president, John E. K. Grove; its website in 2000 lists "Mr. Stephen B. Chambers – Director of Research and Development", and its public parent, Tathacus Resources, called him Chief Science Officer and "the inventor of the Xogen technology" in 2000–03. His patents place him in Calgary from 1998 and in Ladysmith by November 2003; Canada's patent office has none in his name before Xogen. Xogen, 2000.

Said on the free-energy circuit to be Marilyn's brother, and to have built Xogen on her share of Stan's notes; a forum comment of about 2025 has him instead as "Stan Meyer's helper technician" who "fled to Canada". Neither comes with a source. Marilyn's family records name no Chambers, no record found names his parents or siblings, and none of Xogen's or Tathacus's releases of 1999–2004 mentions Meyer; the one documented link is his first patent's citation of Stan's US 4,798,661. The patents; Xogen and Tathacus Resources; Moray King, 2026

Barbara Ferret. Sister, older, by her mother's first marriage; Henry Meyer raised her as his own. She spoke at Max Miller's 2019 conference in Bremen, Ohio, with her daughter Lorraine: the talk is transcribed here. She named the twins, Stephen after Stephen Foster and Stanley Allen after Poe; served in Army cryptography at the Pentagon; did Stan's secretarial work from 1995 on his Macintosh; and sat in the running buggy in 1995 or 1996, ten to fifteen seconds to start, two minutes running, filled from the tap.

"I'm Stan's sister. I'm 10 years older than the boys. I'm 84." Tina says her mother is living, in Grove City. Jim Miller; the 2019 talk

Worked for him, with him, or sold to him

Greg Cook, owner of Jack's Volkswagen Repair, which has its own page. Built or helped build the dune buggy, according to Mark Valentine, who was one of his mechanics. His predecessor Jack Cook witnessed the first road test in October 1985. The shop was at 1000 Stringtown Road, Grove City, a mile from the Cracker Barrel, and later moved to 2349 Harrisburg Pike just north of I-270; a Grove City Record clipping of the move shows Kenny Norris and Mark Valentine, mechanics, Peggy Cook, office manager, and Greg Cook, owner, in front of an Audi.

Valentine: "My good friend Greg Cook who I helped out at his shop, Jacks VW was involved in making it, the photo they first published in the Record was taken in front of his shop." Asked what became of the buggy: "last I heard his brother had it in his basement." Grove City Connect (Mark Valentine)

Bruce Lippiatt. Sold Stan acetal (Delrin) rod, the material of the cell end caps.

"I found him to be very interesting to talk to as he came into my place of work to purchase large diameter acetal rods. He liked the acetal over nylon because it didn't expand like the nylon when exposed to water." Stan told him of an assassination attempt in the Middle East on the way to the airport, "but God thwarted it"; that the plans were divided among his partners "so none of them knew exactly how it worked in completion"; that he had "figured out a way to separate the hydrogen and oxygen quickly at the dispersion into the cylinders without overheating the electrical components"; and that a Briggs & Stratton engine run on the gas in his basement "blew the head through his kitchen floor." Stan solved a hydraulic problem of Lippiatt's on sight, with cambered gears. Co-workers of his later built from the expired patents and ran on a gas-and-oxygen mixture at double the mileage, but could not stop the electronics overheating. To Tina: "when he died, his property was surrounded with 'DO NOT CROSS' yellow tape and I heard the Feds confiscated all the 'evidence' from his house and garage." Grove City Connect

Chris Mitro. Knows a machinist who made parts for Stan.

"I know one of the dudes who made parts for him." Grove City Connect

Jack Rowe. Put up buildings for the planned factory.

"Yes! And proved it! I did all those buildings for NMG Enterprises Neil.." Grove City Connect

Chuck Eric. Says he was at the Cracker Barrel when Stan collapsed.

"Most people don't realize that he was in the middle of opening a factory. I cannot remember the exact location, but it was either on Seeds Rd or Enterprise Drive. If his invention was a hoax, I don't know how he could have gotten the investors to back this venture. He died very soon after this, while eating at Cracker Barrel." To Lorie Wolfe: "Nope, it was at the Cracker Barrel. 100% fact, he said he was poisoned right before collapsing." Asked for a source: "I was there. I am the source." No published account of the evening places anyone at the table but the twins and the two Belgians, so this is either a new witness or a claim to be tested. Grove City Connect

Mike Lape. A customer of Stan's garage.

"Super nice guy and he loved to talk. Went to his garage a few times to have him do some work for me." Grove City Connect

Kathy Knipp. Neighbour for eight years.

"He was our neighbor for 8 years. He worked on his car a lot or was just in his shop. Drove around town quite a bit. Had a dog named Boy. Or Boyy. He did tell us that he thought someone would try to kill him. He said he was looking for investors. We had people knock on our door looking for him. Definitely weren't locals. We moved in 1995. It's very sad because he was a very nice man." Grove City Connect

"Al" of Al's Barbershop, Whitehall. Stan's neighbour in Grove City; rode in the car.

Relayed by John Burris: "Al said he saw Stanley's car and got to ride in it." Grove City Connect

Charles C. Holbrook. Friend and assistant in the mid-1980s.

On Jim Miller's list. Jim Miller

Stanley M. Graumlich. Friend and helper; formerly on the faculty at Wittenberg University.

On Jim Miller's list. Jim Miller

"Ed". Lab assistant for at least three years in the 1990s. Surname unknown.

On Jim Miller's list. Jim Miller

Robert L. Ward. Allied Chemical Company; friend and observer.

On Jim Miller's list. Jim Miller

Anthony D. Cennamo. Stan's lawyer.

On Jim Miller's list. Jim Miller

Russell E. Fowler. Water Fuel Cell's director of personnel; present when the Channel 4 crew filmed in October 1995.

On Jim Miller's list. Jim Miller

Met him, or rode in the buggy

Joey Gilbert

"I remember him coming to my elementary school Glendening when I was in 3rd grade. I remember him explaining the car and letting us raise our hands and ask questions. He didn't bring the car but he showed pics on a slide. Maybe 1984 or 1985." Glendening Elementary is in Groveport. Grove City Connect

"Leda"

Rode in the buggy at the Phillipsburg, Ohio farm demonstration in 1985, about five kilometres north of Wellbaum Road and State Route 49. Her telephone account was recorded by Max Miller; Jim Miller transcribed it. Jim Miller

Randy Mcn

"As a young kid, I met him in Stone Ridge back in the 80's. Didn't know enough about the laws of thermodynamics. Now I realize he was simply using the buggy's battery to split water into hydrogen via electrolysis." Grove City Connect

Don Mccleery

"I met him once, he offered to show me how it worked. I was young and dumb." Grove City Connect

Bart Triplett

"I didn't know him. But I do remember seeing that car driving around Grove City." Grove City Connect

A relative knew him

Judith Bethel Harrow and Carolyn Hager. Their grandfather.

"Gpa was friends with him. The man had to have bodyguards because he was receiving threats. The gasoline companies were not happy with the results of an engine that actually could run on 'water'. After his death his work was taken over by the government and all the investors were cut off from any profits that could be earned. It was then discredited even though there was evidence that the engine did work." Grove City Connect

Lorie Wolfe. Her father, who died in 1990.

"My Dad talked about him. Said he had a meeting at L&K restaurant with some Arabs and dropped over dead at table. All of drawings and everything that went with his invention disappeared from his garage on Marlene Dr. Not long after that his brother turned up dead too." Her father died eight years before Stan, and Stan's brother is living, so either the story is about someone else, whom Brandon Schlichter also half-remembers from the late 1970s, or two stories have merged. The Marlene Drive garage is a checkable detail. Grove City Connect

Dorothy Long. Friends of hers.

"He was at cracker barrel and was meeting with investors, we had friends that were pulling a car out of a ditch at his property the night he passed, heard some crazy stories but never was able to verify much of it." Grove City Connect

Christy Oda LaVigne. Her brother.

"My brother had a whole file on this, he was so interested in this." Grove City Connect

Jason Chadwell. His grandfather.

"My Grandpa talked with him and told me about his water powered car. He always believed that Mr. Meyer was killed for his invention. Grandpa wasn't always right but he was almost never wrong." Grove City Connect

Tammie Radabaugh. Her grandfather.

"My grandpa used to tell me about this." Grove City Connect

Beth Anne Lord-Liming. Knew Stan's niece.

"It was Cracker Barrel. I knew his niece." Grove City Connect

Thomas Sells. Not stated.

"Yes we did, 3 other people made it and they've all passed away from weird situations." Grove City Connect

Jason Morbitzer. Not stated.

On the claim that "they" took the car: "haha they did NOT get the car!" Grove City Connect

John Rankin. Not stated.

"His family started Hyperion which designed the hydrogen fuel cell technology. They are moving back to C bus to produce fuel cells for vehicles." Nothing else in the archive connects the family to a company of that name. Grove City Connect

The visitors Jim Miller documented

These are the people Jim Miller placed at the Broadway lab, from the memos, the films and the correspondence. The full list, with his notes, is on the forum. Jim spoke at the same 2019 conference as Barbara and Lorraine, under the name he used there, Jim Miner: the transcript.

What is missing

The Facebook thread was read as a guest, which is how this page came to hold the text of the comments but not, for most of the people on it, a link to them. Jim Miller's two other lists, "Lab Visitors After 1998" and "Meyer Sister and Niece talk about his Death", were among the threads the Wayback Machine did not save. And no one on this page has yet been asked whether they would sit for an interview.

If you are on this page and knew him, or know someone who did, the forum is open, and so is the contact form.