On June 14, 2021, Jim Henry Meier passed away in San Angelo, TX. The family figures, that God needed another prime Barbeque hand in heaven. While Jim Henry had other local business interests, the family will always remember Jim’s BBQ brisket, pork butt, or in more recent of his retired years, BBQ ribs. Jim inherited his methods for not only making it, but also how to build a pit, upon which to cook it, from his father, John Henry Meier, who preceded him in death, as did Jim’s mother, Ruth (Fickling) Meier.
Jim was born on July 10, 1941, in Pecos, Reeves County, TX, and always claimed he could recognize an original, next door, “grown in Pecos County,” cantaloupe. His family moved to San Angelo where Jim was a member of the second graduating class of the newly built, Central High School, in 1960. Jim then attended Baylor University where he was a member of the Delta Sigma Pi fraternity and graduated in 1965 with a degree in business.
Afterwards he began a career in business forms that eventually led him to start Meier Business Systems in San Angelo in 1981, co-operated with his wife, Anease (Helweg) Meier, whom he married in 1978. Together, Jim was known for his original creative form designs, while Anease ran the office end, a successful partnership. While in the forms business, Jim was a member of the National Business Forms Association (NBFA) and the Lions Club, plus he was a former member of the Rotary Club. He and Anease closed their forms business by 2019, after many successful years.
As a result of their marriage, Jim added a ready-made family with daughters Janna and Susan. Today, surviving Jim, in addition to Janna, is her son Nick Wisniewski (father is Scott) and her daughter Brooke Taylor (father is Sam). Susan also survives Jim, as wife of Marshall Brown, and they have daughters, Kate, Madeline and Campbell Brown. All of those above called Jim Henry “Papa,” as he was that to all those named, over the years. His biggest regret was that his three oldest “grandchildren” attend Texas A & M, instead of Jim’s Baylor.
Other survivors are Jim’s son, from a first marriage, John Lee Meier of Bell County, TX, and Jim’s only sibling, a brother, Tom J. Meier (wife Linda) of Spicewood, TX. Also surviving are cousins and a nephew, plus other relatives, kin by birth or marriage, and many friends, acquired other the years.
There will be a Visitation at Johnson’s Funeral Home Friday evening, June 18, from 5:30 to 7:30 with refreshments served in Johnson’s Hospitality Room, in the room next to where visitation will occur. A graveside service will be held at 10:00 AM, Saturday morning, June 19, at Lawnhaven Cemetery. Officiating will be Jim and Laurie Barker of Junction, TX, who connect to Jim Henry through the Bloys Campmeeting at Ft. Davis, TX. Jim Henry had attended this special event, all his life, and was looking forward to it again later this summer, but he’s now been called to a higher service. Memorials to honor Jim can be made to Meals for the Elderly or Bloys Campmeeting at 18120 TX-166, Fort Davis, TX 79734.
For those who knew Jim Henry Meier personally, he was “wild and wooly” in terms of his enjoyment of life and family. He was an avid gardener, hunter and fisherman, in addition to being a “connoisseur of TX BBQ.” Jim over the years developed his own complete package of “how to” barbeque, including a rub and a mop sauce. He even learned that adding a few Mesquite beans, green or dry, to a regular charcoal fire, would produce the same flavor as the wood. However, if you asked him to share his rub and sauce recipe, he loved to respond, jokingly, “I can tell you, but if I did, then I’d have to kill ya!’” Jim Henry even talked his brother-in-law, Duane Helweg (wife Sharon), into writing Texas Monthly about Jim’s BBQ!
Also, if you asked Jim to shake hands, you might get his famous thumb and two fingers, held together, shake. It was his way of avoiding any potential harassment suits, since he and Anease hired local college girls part time, at their business for years, so this replaced his full hug, he ordinarily liked to give. Then, we all knew, whatever you do, don’t complain to Jim that you’re “not having any fun.” Because he’d get everybody in a circle, ask them to put their right foot forward, then when all had complied, he’d start tapping his toe, asking all to do the same, then ask wryly and rhetorically, “Is everybody having fun yet?”
And in his final retirement years, other than giving a hard time to grandchildren, he loved to share his gardening by-products with others, family and friends. However, nothing gave Jim more joy than to hand out, actual $2.00 bills or “funny money” ones, even to unsuspecting adults, usually in a restaurant. But his crowning achievement during that time, was to hand out Kennedy half dollars to a child, usually belonging to those adult strangers, then explain to the child, they should put it in a piggy bank at home, and save all their coins, then they could go to college someday. That was our beloved Jim Henry Meier.
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