James 'Jim' Philip Meckel, 89

James Philip Meckel was born April 7, 1936, to Fred and Marie Meckel in Bishop, Calif. He became the older brother to three younger boys and a girl. Jim spent much of his childhood on horseback in the Sierras. When his family moved to Coeur d’Alene, Jim stayed behind to finish a summer job with the local veterinarian, returning to the Meckel family farm above Lake Coeur d’Alene just in time to help bring in the hay.

Jim enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps right out of high school. He served in Japan. When he returned, Jim married Janis Adams from Coeur d’Alene in June 1957.

Janis and Jim moved to Moscow, where Jim earned an engineering degree from the University of Idaho. Their family grew with the birth of two daughters, Michelle and Monica. Monica was still an infant when the family headed north to Palmer, Alaska, where Jim went to work for the U.S. Geological Survey.

The USGS later placed Jim in charge of the new Fairbanks office, a role he held for most of the family’s 17 years in Alaska. His work took him across the state, often spending weeks at a time in remote river catchments. During those years, the family lived in Palmer, Juneau, and eventually Fairbanks. Four daughters in all — Michelle, Monica, Laura and Lenore — grew up largely in Alaska.

In 1977, the family returned to Coeur d’Alene, where Jim joined Meckel Engineering, the family business. Jim and Janis built a beautiful home on the family farm, where they lived for the rest of their lives.

Jim Meckel lived a Shakespearean life. He felt most comfortable working and playing in wide open spaces, listening intently to opera, or sipping Scotch by the woodstove in his easy chair late at night. He and Janis enjoyed long conversations. Friends from his surveying and hiking days shared endless stories — often drawn from Jim’s adventures in Alaska, Canada, Montana, Wyoming and Utah.

Janis preceded Jim in death in 2022. Jim is survived by his daughters: Michelle, Monica and Laura; his grandsons: Jimmy, Brendon, Alec, Michael, Preston and Zane; and his great-grandchildren: Chevy, Anya, Joseph, Jettson, Mia and Elio, all of whom will carry on his legacy. Jim’s brother, Kenny Meckel — who was with Jim until the end — now carries the esteemed title of patriarch of this remarkable family.

A memorial service for Jim will be held at the Mica Flats Grange Hall (7465 W. Kidd Island Rd., Coeur d’Alene, ID 83814) at 1 p.m., Sunday, Feb. 22, 2026. Please visit Jim’s online memorial and sign his guestbook at www.yatesfuneralhomes.com.