John Myers

John Richard “Jack” Myers, 90, passed away peacefully on January 13, 2025, in Kansas City, Missouri.

John was born on December 31, 1934, in Albia, Iowa, to Mary Maxine Myers and Stanford R. Warner. He graduated from Albia High School in 1953. After high school, John served his country with honor in the United States Army from 1954 to 1957, stationed in Fukuoka, Japan.
Following his military service, he attended Centerville Junior College, graduating as salutatorian of his class. He continued his studies at Northwest Missouri State University, earning a Bachelor of Science degree, and later obtained a Master’s degree in Education from the University of Missouri.

On October 10, 1964, he married Jerilyn Ann Hopper at the Cathedral of St. Joseph in St. Joseph, Missouri.

John devoted much of his early career to teaching, working as a high school educator in Missouri, Guam, and Iowa. In 1974, he transitioned to a new role with the Social Security Administration in Kansas City, Missouri, where he held various management roles until his retirement in 2004.

He is survived by his wife of 60 years, Jerilyn Ann Myers; son and daughter-in-law, John Michael and Mindi Myers of West Des Moines, Iowa; son Jimmy Myers of Portland, Oregon; daughter Julie Myers of Prairie Village, Kansas; daughter and son-in-law, Jennifer and Nejib McHarek of Lenexa, Kansas; and his nine beloved grandchildren: Will, Ella, and Clara Myers; Lily, Jack, Abby, and Chloe Swanson; Alexander and Sophia McHarek. He is also survived by his niece, Cindy Scharingson (Jeff) of Urbandale, Iowa, and nephew, Rick Gaffey of Knoxville, Iowa.

He was preceded in death by his infant daughter, Michelle Renee Myers; his mother and father; his maternal grandparents, who raised him, James Earl and Hannorah (Shehan) Myers; his brother, James Patrick Gaffey; and many beloved aunts, uncles, and cousins.

John was very outgoing and seemed to bump into friends wherever he went. A former English teacher, he loved to read and study foreign languages.

He loved to tell stories—stories he told over and over but always with the enthusiasm of sharing them for the first time. His recollections ranged from working at a meatpacking plant in Ottumwa to the physical effects of sailing stormy seas to Japan, serving Mass under the stern oversight of Father Heinen, his feisty grandmother (throwing a shoe at him or seeing her roundhouse a man who spoke ill of the Irish), the CB&Q railroad and time spent with his grandfather at the Albia Depot, hauling 100-pound sacks of railroad mortar during a summer job, and being part of the “hamburger squad” on his high school football team.

His adventures in life took him more than halfway around the world, but he was happiest at home, especially when surrounded by his family. A devout Catholic, he prayed for his family and friends every day.

The family will receive friends at a visitation on Thursday, January 16, from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. at Hixson-Klein Funeral Home in Gower, Missouri. Military honors will begin at 5 p.m., followed by the rosary at 5:15 p.m. and a wake. A Funeral Mass will be celebrated at the Cathedral of St. Joseph in St. Joseph, Missouri, on Friday, January 17, at 11:30 a.m. A private interment at Allen Cemetery in Gower, Missouri, will be held at a later date.