James William Meyer, 98, of Alpena, Michigan, passed away on Wednesday, Jan. 27, 2021.
He was born February 4, 1922 in Huntertown, Indiana, to Daniel Ben Meyer and his wife, Anna Louise Senn. Jim grew up on a farm, the son of a sharecropper. His mother died in childbirth when Jim was five, and he was raised by his family, particularly his oldest sister, Marguerite. Friends and neighbors thought it best to send the children to relatives, but his father kept his family together. Their hardest year was 1933, in the Great Depression. The children were thrilled to receive a single orange from Santa Claus at Christmas. Jim was teased at school when he wore trousers sewn from horse blankets. His family had no running water or electricity. His chore was to carry water to the house from the well. Jim raised rabbits for his family to eat.