Louis Michael "Mike" Van Meter

Mike Van Meter was born on April 15, 1951, in Orange, Texas to Ruby Fay Peveto and Uno Marion Aijala. After his parents’ divorce, he moved with his family to Corpus Christi, Texas, where he was raised by his mother and later his stepfather, John William Van Meter. Mike loved his dad deeply and, as a teenager, legally changed his name to Van Meter. At seventeen he joined the Army and served with great pride as a paratrooper in the 82nd Airborne Division. After three years of active duty and three more in the reserves, he returned to Orange, where much of his family lived.

In his younger and healthier years, Mike devoted himself to volunteer service. He was a longtime member of the Little Cypress Volunteer Fire Department and served as a Deputy Constable for Orange County Precinct 1 for more than twenty years. On January 3, 1992, he and Theresa Ardoin blended their families in marriage in West Orange, Texas. They shared thirty-four loving years together, rarely seen apart. They enjoyed motorcycle rides, traveled to visit Mike’s former Calallen schoolmates, and spent many hours together at fabric and craft stores where Mike offered his thoughtful opinions on colors and projects. For more than twenty years they attended Cove Baptist Church, where Mike became known affectionately as the “Candy Man” for the Smarties he always carried in his pocket for young and old alike.

Mike’s greatest joy was his family. He is survived by his wife Theresa, daughters Tessa Humble and April Dickerson, stepsons Tommy Brown and Cliff Brown, ten grandchildren—Chase Humble, Jordan Humble, Brianna Humble, Cheyenne Dickerson, Blaine Garris, Adalyn Brown, Elliot Brown, Isaac Brown, Hazel Elizabeth Brown, and Vada Grace Brown—and five great-grandchildren: Kaden Humble, Lakelan Humble, Riverly Humble, Mia Bonneaux, and Thomas Humble, with great-granddaughter Freya expected to arrive on his birthday next month. He was preceded in death by his mother Ruby Peveto, father John Van Meter, and granddaughter Hazel Elizabeth Brown. He also leaves behind his beloved Ragdoll cat Moses, siblings Judy Van Meter, John William Van Meter II, and Kim Van Meter Asbury, along with nieces, nephews, cousins, and many friends.

In his final years Mike courageously battled Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis. His suffering ended on March 13, 2026, at Harbor Hospice Hospital in Beaumont, Texas, where he drew his last earthly breath and stepped into heaven, able once again to breathe freely.