Meyers, Arthur Louis
Arthur Louis Meyers of Floyd, Virginia went home to heaven to be with Jesus and his loved ones July 6, 2024, surrounded by his family and the love of his life, his wife of 35 years Beth Meyers.
Born in Chicago Illinois, He moved to New Orleans with his family as a young child. After Serving as a Chaplains assistant for the US Army during the Vietnam, Arthur graduated from Wagner College and went on to serve our countries Veterans for 30+ years in a distinguished career with the VA Hospital in Richmond, Virginia. A job he loved. Nothing brought him more happiness than serving others.
Arthur was preceded in death by his parents Arthur Harry & Norcille Bordelon Meyers. He is survived by his wife Beth Meyers, His son Briordy Meyers (wife Alia) and their children Isabella and Jacob, His son Eric Meyers, His daughter Sarah Garton (husband Taylor) and their children Lucy and Johnathan, and his daughter Rebecca Meyers Garton (husband Scott) and their children Rosie, Wesley, and Wyatt, and many family members, nieces and nephews.
His wonderful sense of humor and kind blue eyes will be missed by so many. The family will host a celebration of life Saturday August 17 at 2pm at Central Baptist Church in North Chesterfield, Virginia.
In lieu of flowers, donations can be made in honor of Arthur Meyers to: the Theresa Foundation in honor of his niece, Theresa, at www.theresafoundation.org or the Wounded Warriors project at https://support.woundedwarriorproject.org/.
Arthur Louis Meyers, 76, of Floyd, Virginia passed away peacefully at his home on July 6, 2024 surrounded by his children and devoted wife Beth. Born on July 27, 1947 at Swedish Covenant Hospital in Chicago, Illinois, Art often recounted his childhood with clear sense impressions. Memories of cold walks down windy Belmont Avenue to church at Our Lady of Mount Carmel, fighting to keep his balance on the ice, flashing sparks flying from the trolley buses bursting outside his window, and comforting ride-along on the city bus his father drove. He was the proud grandson of a Chicago firefighter who died in the line of duty and a grandmother who affectionately nicknamed him “Butch” because she thought he resembled a bruiser.
After a brief time in Idaho, Art and his family moved to New Orleans to be closer to his mother’s extended Cajun family. He began high school as a seminarian, studying at St. Alphonsus in the Lower Garden District. Priests delivered Mass in Latin, which came so easily to him that parents hired him to tutor their children. Often serving as an altar boy, he and his classmates would use the oranges given to them after Mass as footballs for quick games in the street. They would find humor in the contrasts between the profound service and their own profane observations of humanity while hatching mischievous schemes and avoiding the disciplinary wrath of nuns. Despite the significantly warmer walk to church and the ease with which his studies came, he left the seminary after his junior year. Women and the sacrament of marriage, he explained, were in his future.
In the summers, Art and his brother proudly worked with their great uncle as waiters at the famous Cafe Du Monde in the French Market and stayed with their grandmother Nora Tassin. He relished his grandmother’s cooking and made enough money to support himself for the entire year while helping his growing family of younger siblings.
Art graduated from Hammond High School in Hammond, Louisiana in 1965. He began college at Southeastern Louisiana University in Hammond before moving back to Chicago for a brief period, staying with his grandmother Ella Meyers and taking broadcasting classes. Art was in Chicago in 1968 when he received his draft notice for service in the Vietnam War, leading him back to Louisiana for basic training with the U.S. Army at Fort Polk. Art’s seminary training paid dividends in the U.S. Army, as it led to him being assigned as a Chaplain Assistant. His education, but more importantly his innate sense of empathy and ability to connect with people, served him well in difficult circumstances. He remembered vividly the times he traveled on body escort duty for fallen soldiers and having to comfort family members who were often mourning the death of teenage sons, husbands and fathers killed in action. It was near the end of his service, when he was stationed at Fort Hamilton, in Brooklyn, New York, that he met another soldier in the chapel who thought Art might be a match for his daughter. In May of 1970, weeks away from being discharged, Art married Ruth Ann Stewart. After spending time in California, Ruth and Art moved back to New York, where in
1975 Art graduated Magna Cum Laude from Wagner College with a B.S. in Nursing. Since his discharge from the Army, Art had worked at several jobs in hospitals and mental health facilities where he found his calling. Patients wrote letters about the profound impact his kindness and empathy had on them, and he realized that despite his aptitude for scholarship, what he really wanted to do was connect with people on an everyday level.
After graduation, Ruth and Art set out on a month-long cross-country road trip. They put all of their belongings in storage and traveled around the United States, stopping at national parks and checking in on friends and family from Brooklyn to Louisiana to California. The beauty they encountered during their trip made them realize that they wanted to share the world with children. After settling in Oakland, California, Art’s first son Briordy Tassin was born in 1977. Another son, Eric, was born in 1979 in Richmond, Virginia.
Art found a nursing position at Richmond’s Hunter Holmes McGuire VA Medical Center in the early 1980s. His calling found a perfect match, allowing him to use both his nursing and seminary training to treat wounded veterans’ bodies and souls. Eventually Art became the head nurse of McGuire’s Nursing Home Care Unit and built a reputation as a strong and passionate advocate for his aging patients, leveraging his nursing acumen, empathy and the best sense of humor in the building. He was a poet, and wrote poems dedicated to his patients and nurses, which hung on the walls of the hospital, reminding everyone of the fleeting nature of life and the importance of caregivers. He served the VA in Richmond for 30 years. While Art’s first marriage ended in 1982, it was at the VA that he would meet Beth. She remembered turning the corner one day in the hospital and seeing a handsome man with a mustache, a strong chin and a great sense of humor. He remembered a deep connection with a kind and fun soul who loved dancing and music as much as he did. They married in 1989, with their daughter Sarah following in 1991 and another daughter Rebecca arriving in 1994. After Art retired from the VA, they moved to Floyd and enjoyed the natural beauty of the mountains, the peace and quiet of their home, the joyful connections of their community and visits from their children and grandchildren.
Arthur was preceded in death by his parents Arthur Harry and Norcille Bordelon Meyers. He is survived by his beloved wife of 35 years Beth Meyers, his sons Briordy and Eric Meyers from his first marriage, his daughters Sarah Garton and Rebecca Meyers Garton and his seven grandchildren, Lucy, Johnathan, Isabella, Rosie, Jacob, Wesley, and Wyatt. He is mourned by his brothers and sisters, nieces and nephews.
Our husband, father, grandfather, brother and uncle Art Meyers was the funniest person we knew. He always saw comedy in life and used it to empathize with others and connect with people on the most basic human level, frequently using his sense of humor as a bridge to happiness for those in suffering. It was also common to have him tag along to school or work events, only to turn around and find our teachers, co-workers, friends and professors doubled over in laughter or deeply engaged in meaningful conversations–frequently within minutes of arriving and meeting him. Visiting his son Briordy in Chicago several years ago, they ventured back to Swedish Covenant Hospital where he as a matter of fact informed the receptionist that he had been born there—in 1947. He somehow charmed the stunned receptionist and left after a 20 minute conversation. He was a great cook and loved coffee and cigars. He was an athlete and excelled at running and walking, often outpacing his children and grandchildren with his speed and stamina. He loved nature and being outside and was grateful for the opportunity of life. Art loved long baseball games where the clock could not beat you and anything was possible. He had a big heart and cared about others. He was without pretense and always his genuine self.
We will miss his sense of humor, his dependability and work ethic, his long hugs and easy “I love you” affirmations, his thoughtful advice and his beautiful blue (hazel?) eyes. We will miss him yelling at the television during football games “If they play like that they don’t deserve to win!” and going in deep when watching political talk shows. We will miss seeing him hold his grandchildren’s hands and mysteriously quiet our crying babies. There are few people on earth who’s passing truly makes you feel as if the world has lost something. He was one of those few. We know he is with us in spirit, watching over us from heaven and we take solace in the knowledge that he is at peace.
The family will host a celebration of life on Saturday, August 17, 2024, at 2pm at the Central Baptist Church, 1500 Courthouse Road, North Chesterfield, VA 23236 In the meantime, we suggest you remember Art the way we will, by laughing, connecting with people, cooking a good meal, taking a walk in nature, listening to music and always keeping the big picture in mind.
