Floyd M. Meyers

Floyd Maynard Meyers, 90, of Pocatello concluded a long and bountiful life on this earth on Thursday, Jan. 6 at the Life Care Center in Idaho Falls.

Born April 3, 1920 in a sod house on the family farm on Garfield Table near Gandy, Nebraska, Floyd was the 9th of 10 children born to Dolphin Percy and Stella Harriet Meyers. He, his 4 sisters and 5 brothers grew up in a loving home with a strong sense of family unity and a focus on individual responsibility and self reliance. As a boy, Floyd was a natural athlete and developed his skills as a hunter and fisherman to help sustain the family. Those skills would continue to serve him well and provide his favorite form of recreation for the rest of his life.

While in Nebraska, he and his siblings rode triple on horseback to attend school through the 8th grade. In 1936, his dad sold the farm, livestock and machinery and moved the family to Twin Falls where Floyd was able to enroll in school and complete his High School education.

1n 1940, at age 20 and with encouragement from 2 of his older brothers, Floyd and a friend ventured out to Santa Monica, California and enrolled in schooling to qualify for employment with Lockheed Aircraft where he joined his brothers and worked until he was drafted into the U.S. Navy in 1944. After an early medical discharge, he returned to work at Lockheed until 1945 when he and his brothers came home to visit their family in Twin Falls, and decided to stay.

It was there, in 1946, that Floyd met the young and beautiful Lona Scott at an ice skating party and, by all accounts, it was love at first sight. In less than a year, they were joined in a wonderful marriage that would last more than 60 years.

By 1954 Floyd and Lona had been blessed with 2 daughters, Vickie and Carol, and a son, Jerry. Floyd took a job as a filer at a sawmill in Colville, Washington, where 3 of his brothers had settled. But after 2 years, he returned once again with his young family to Idaho where he apprenticed in the shoe repair trade with his cousin who owned a shop in Burley. When Floyd learned of a shoe repair business for sale in Pocatello, he made the purchase, moved his family and reopened the shop in 1956 as Meyers Shoe Repair. Owned now by his son, Jerry, that business continues in business today after 54 years in the same location on Center Street.

A frugal and hard working couple, Floyd and Lona also purchased and maintained several rental properties over the years in and around Pocatello. In 1976, Floyd sold his shoe repair business to his son, liquidated his rental properties and retired at the age of 56. For the next 30 years, he and Lona maintained their home in Pocatello, enjoyed the company of friends and family, traveled extensively and spent many of their winters in Arizona until Lona's untimely death in 2006.

During their time together, Floyd and Lona were blessed with many wonderful memories and 3 loving children. They took great pride in their son and daughters and especially enjoyed time spent with them, their 4 grandchildren and 8 great-grandchildren.

Floyd had a long and fruitful life, but he missed Lona very much and in the end, made it very clear he was ready to be reunited with her. His family and friends can take comfort in knowing they are joyfully together again.

As the second youngest among them, Floyd was preceded in death by 7 of his 8 siblings, elders; Loretta Clorise, Noral Dolphin, Arlene Marie, Lorene Mae, Lowell Gill, Bernice LaFern, Glen Perkins, and younger brother Billy Don. His just-older brother, Warren Wayne, 92, still lives in Colville Washington with his wife Barbara. Floyd is also survived by daughters Vickie (Garth) Wilkins of Boise, Carol (Jim) Liljenquist of Idaho Falls and son Jerry Meyers of Pocatello.

Funeral services will be held at 2:00 p.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 11 at Manning-Wheatley Funeral Chapel 510 N. 12th Ave. Those who came to know Floyd over the years at Meyers Shoe Repair are invited to join family and friends, beginning at 1:00 p.m. at the funeral home, prior to the service. Internment will be in the Mountainview Cemetery following the services. Funeral arrangements are under the care of Manning-Wheatley Funeral Chapel.