Louis Michael Meevers-Scholte

Louis Michael Meevers-Scholte was, on paper, regarded as a thrilled-to-retire produce clerk, loyal to his career at Food Town/Stop & Shop throughout most of his life. But beneath this humble exterior, was a man that had an ungraspable complexity, creative intensity, and a deep unshakeable love for his family. Conventionally he was 59 years old, but he carried with him an unaged soul of a child. He was stubborn, eccentric, and luminously artistic. On July 12, 2025, Louis tragically fell victim to himself, 8 days before his 60th birthday, ending his life too soon by suicide. His strong-willed soul being the conduit for his spectacular artistic sensibility, and the tragedy of his fatal departure.

He resigned his time here on Earth in the familiarity of his bed, with a blanket of love and warmth comforting him as he accepted his eternal rest, during the aching gloom of the summer night with his family sound asleep under a shared roof.

His life began in Neptune, Nj, born like a dying star waiting to explode and with a unique sensitivity no one besides himself will ever have the same kindred spirit, or romantic eye to witness. Until his untimely death, rebelling from the limitations of material existence in Toms River, Nj, with that same stubborn, youthful sensitivity intact. During his life on Earth, he was fueled by the love he felt from his family. His surface was built on choices made of necessity, of survival, to honorably provide for his loved ones and to nurture the artist within, but he had so much more hidden internally that will forever remain a grief-riddled mystery.

At the hierarchy of his several layers was his devotion to his family. He was a loving husband to his wife, his “Puddin,” Deena Meevers-Scholte– both who knew they were destined for each other when they first locked eyes. And an enormously sentimental father to his three children: Kaylee, Louis, and Cannon Meevers-Scholte. Tenderly documenting their lives with the memorabilia he accumulated, like a specialized story only he could decrypt. He is a son to Nancy Zarrillo, and a brother to his four sisters: Julianna Bihuniak, Diana Eldridge, Louise Galletto, and Karen Kennedy. As well as an uncle, cousin, step-sibling, coworker, friend, and depending on the day, either an endearingly quirky or moody acquaintance.

He graduated with an associates degree at the Du Cret School of the Arts in 90’. He was a life-long artist, and it wouldn't be inaccurate to say he created his own particularly personal type of artistic expression. He made an outstanding working clock out of colored pencils that would hang on his living-room wall. He was a writer and illustrator of a children’s book he created with his daughter. And had a spur-of-the-moment dragonfly phase, when he spontaneously gifted dragonfly figurines handcrafted from wire, to friends and family. And surprising us all, when he created an experimentalist dragonfly sculpture and lit a ring of fire around it in his backyard, because why not? It’s doubtful that anyone else but him could've made and executed something as absurd, unthinkable, and personal as that. Something on the surface that doesn't make sense to us, but was an intuitive expression speaking from his truth within.

However even his innate artistry wasn’t free from the relentless grip of an unfair hand, with him being colorblind. Yet his astounding perseverance and creative fortitude prevailed, silently shining through the isolated perspective dealt upon him. No eyes but his will ever grasp the art he created in its honesty, in the exact same way he saw it, but in every work of art he left behind, we’re left with a visceral beauty that could provoke churning emotion and touch the soul in everyone.

But the depths of his artistic abilities were just a portion of the man Louis was. He was as industrious as he was frugal. He had a dog as a best friend for every phase of his life. He had a goatee and shoulder length hair in his 40’s. He was proud of his Dutch heritage, sporadically indulging in hagelslag (jimmy sandwiches), and watching Dutch media to learn the language. He grew an extraordinary garden and tended to many plants. He was a punk-rocker that loved music, especially grunge and jazz. He played the saxophone while his family’s dog, Maggie, howled the vocals, creating their own funky little tune together. He had a gentle selflessness to him, like when he nurtured a wounded bird he found lying on the ground back to health– a significant moment his children fondly remember.

He impacted the world with his silent acts of kindness, his sensitivity to the small details in life, and always remaining his quirky, silly, family-oriented, strong-willed self. He was a beautiful soul, a devout husband, and an exceptional dad, who’ll be deeply missed and forever loved to no end.

Visitation will be held on Friday, July 18, 2025 from 2-4 and 7-9 PM at Anderson and Campbell Funeral Home, 703 Main St., Toms River. A Funeral Mass will be held on Saturday, July 19, at 9:00 AM at St. Joseph's Church, 685 Hooper Ave, Toms River, NJ. Burial will follow at St. Joseph's Cemetery in Toms River.