Richard L. Meehan
April 20, 1939-Sept. 29, 2025
Bangkok, Thailand
Richard Lawrence Meehan, of Palo Alto, California, and Bangkok, Thailand, passed away peacefully on September 29, 2025, at the age of 86. He was surrounded by his wife, Nim Janluan, and his daughter, Thong. Richard was renowned and beloved by many—including his friends, students, colleagues, present and former wives, and his five children: Lisa (Umbach), Kathleen (Triolo), Emily, Kevin, and Thong.
He worked nearly up until his passing with passion, curiosity, and a desire to serve any and all geotechnical issues in the world, drawing on his many skills and talents: civil engineering, sketching, performance, writing, analysis, media production, advocacy, and legal expertise.
As the son of Evelyn and William Meehan, Richard grew up in Newton, Massachusetts, and attended Angier School, Roxbury Latin, MIT, and Imperial College. He was an officer in the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and after completing his service he and his family set off for Thailand to build the Lam Takhong Dam in 1963. In 1965 they moved to Palo Alto, California, where Richard established the civil engineering firm Earth Sciences & Associates with his partner and best friend, Douglas Hamilton.
From 1975 until 2012 Richard was also an adjunct professor of engineering at Stanford University, where he delighted in teaching talented and inspiring young people and brainstorming with brilliant colleagues. He served as an expert witness in a number of significant geotechnical lawsuits and spent much of his life conducting research to identify the causes of sinkholes, groundwater pollution, dam failures, earthquakes, explosions, and other man-made geological problems, and publishing the results in academic journals.
He moved permanently to Thailand after meeting and falling in love with his third wife and soulmate, Nim, in 2001. There he enjoyed his later years feasting on spicy food, spending meaningful time with family, and consulting for clients in the U.S., Indonesia, and other locales.
An artist and writer all his life, Richard became a hit on YouTube for his fine art diaries under the name “Jack Swelters” (username @swelters), and also published several memoirs and nonfiction works, including "Getting Sued and Other Tales of the Engineering Life." He loved adventure, once traveled by bus through Pakistan and Afghanistan, and took his children on bold journeys around the world—whether walking in a single day from Menlo Park to San Francisco along El Camino Real, traveling by bus through Laos, or visiting the drunk court in a small Irish village.
Richard remained forever young at heart and embraced cultural evolution in many forms, from the rise of the internet to rap music and LGBTQ rights. He passed away still brainstorming ways to prevent dam failures in the state where he spent so much of his life, California.
