Raymond Theodore MEYER

MEYER, WERTJES, LURSEN, NOELCK, DODD, PEREZ, KLOETZER, SMOOT, AMMERMAN, SIEMS

Posted By: Sarah Thorson Little (email)
Date: 11/1/2014 at 11:39:20

October 10, 1933 ---- October 21, 2014

Raymond Theodore Meyer, 81, of Hampton, Iowa, passed away Tuesday, October 21, 2014, at Franklin General Hospital in Hampton, Iowa. Ray was born on October 10, 1933, to Simon Samual and Alice (Wertjes) Meyer in rural Iowa Falls, Iowa. He went to a country school and farmed with his parents. He later went to work for the North Central Construction Company, later known as Weldens Ready Mix in Hampton. He met and married Betty Lursen on November 26, 1950. There were camping and fishing trips to Minnesota and every year they went to the Minnesota State Fair. Ray and Betty decided to buy the Phillips 66 Station in Hampton, and they ran Ray's Phillips 66 for 8 ½ years. While in the station, Ray became a volunteer for the Hampton Fire Department. He retired from the Fire Department after 18 years of service. They sold the station and Ray had his own auto repair shop for a couple of years and then Ray went back to work for Weldens Ready Mix. In 1983, Ray and Betty decided to buy and run Betty's Café. They had the Café for 13 ½ years. Everyone knew dad as Ray T. and when you came in to the café to eat he would sit you with a complete stranger if they were busy. When you left Betty's Café, you left full and with a new friend. They decided to sell the café to their daughter in 1996 to retire. But Ray and Betty couldn't be idle for long, and Ray did different jobs until he retired with Martin Marietta out of Alden and Dows.

Ray and Betty had six children, Ron (Deb) Meyer of Osceola, Rhonda (Carl) Noelck of Latimer, Shelley (Dale) Dodd of Hampton, Sam (Vicki) Meyer of Belmond, Raynard (Sandee) Meyer of Spencer and Sandy Perez of Hampton. They had sixteen grandchildren, thirty-eight great grandchildren and two great great grandchildren. Ray is survived by his sister Mildred Kloetzer of Bradford, sister-in-law Margaret Smoot of Allison and brother-in-law Richard Lursen of Allison. He is preceded in death in by his parents Sam and Alice Meyer, wife Betty, infant sister, sister Ruth Ammerman, brother-in-law Jake Ammerman, brother-in-law Bob Kloetzer, sister and brother-in-law Sweer and Grace Siems, sister and brother-in-law Fred (Bob) and Grace Lursen, brother-in-law Linus Smoot and father and mother-in-law Oak and Hattie Lursen. Burial will take place in the Hampton Cemetery.