Big Smile; Bigger Heart (My Baby Brother)

On Sunday afternoon, I received a call from my sister, Amber. She informed me that our youngest brother, Jimmy, had been in a terrible motorcycle accident and was being life-flighted to a hospital. My wife and I, of course, immediately prepared to leave to meet them at the hospital. Before we left the house, we learned that he had passed. He was only 41 years old.

Honestly, this call wasn’t a complete surprise. If my brother had nine lives, he had figured out a way to squeeze out a tenth. For better and worse, he lived his life wide open. Ironically, he was being quite sensible in this case and a vehicle just happened to pull out in front of him. It was just a terrible accident. By God’s grace, we’d found common ground and had been in fairly constant communication over the last few years. And, I along with my dad (Terry) have been afforded the honor of officiating Jimmy’s memorial. One piece of that is writing Jimmy’s obituary. I’d like to honor his memory by sharing what I’ve written on my blog this week.

On Sunday, October 4, 2026, James Aaron Myers, better known as Jimmy, passed from this life into the next after a tragic accident on his motorcycle. He leaves behind a ridiculously large family, including his wife – Amber Wakeman, four daughters – Kayden Dimos, Paige Myers, Abbey Simpson, and Maddie Wakeman, two sons – Bradley Wakeman and Lincoln Myers, parents – Teri and Terry Miller, and James T. Myers and Sandy Myers, siblings – Jeremy (Robyn) Myers, Amber (Travis) Cameron, Andrew (Vanessa) Miller, Stephanie (Jake) McAllister, Amanda Steven, Kathy (Tanner) Clark, and Amy (John) Hochstetler, grandparents – Jerry and Leanna Miller, and Arlene and Bob Carr, too many nieces and nephews to name, one great nephew, and numerous aunts, uncles, and cousins. He was well-loved and will be dearly missed.

There is a picture of Jimmy making the rounds on social media. In it, Jimmy is sitting behind the wheel of a truck giving the biggest, full-toothed grin you’ve ever seen. It’s a scene family and friends had been treated to time and time again. If a picture is worth a thousand words, this one exceeded the normal limit. Jimmy’s smile let you know he was genuinely glad to see you. It also let you know he was more than excited to do whatever he was doing, whether he should have been doing it, and maybe especially if he shouldn’t have. Jimmy loved life, and if you were a part of it, he loved you. It was invariably written all over his face.

Jimmy was “a jack of all trades” and for him, “one man’s trash is another man’s treasure.”

Two phrases immediately come to mind when considering who Jimmy was. Jimmy was “a jack of all trades” and for him, “one man’s trash is another man’s treasure.” He had a special gift for scouring the bowels of Facebook Marketplace, the dark corners of overflowing barns, and the far reaches of fields and finding cars, trucks, boats, and all manner of mechanized marvels. Over the years, dozens of vehicles and pieces of equipment passed through his possession. On many occasions, Jimmy showed up at home and/or family functions with boats, go carts, dirt bikes, cars, and most recently, a powered parachute. His daughter Kayden recalled a time Jimmy sent her a random picture of him, with a big grin across his face, sitting in the driver’s seat of a bus he had just purchased. As one family member noted, “Every time you saw Jimmy, it always felt like show and tell.” Jimmy even made a career out of his collection of misfit toys and tools. Most of the equipment he used for his tree cutting service, “White Trash Ballin” (or “We’re The Best,” for more particular customers) was “vintage.” He kept it in working order by the brilliance of his abundance of hillbilly ingenuity. Over and over, he took what was broken and made it better.

Jimmy was always up for an adventure. He didn’t always slow down long enough to consider whether or not it was a good idea. He often leapt before he looked. On one occasion, while taking a boat ride past a nearby Christian camp, it was suggested that the family make use of their unattended, inflatable water-slide. Before the idea was fully formed, Jimmy had jumped into the water, swam to the slide, and was scaling the side. As the lifeguards shouted out their protest from the shore, Jimmy slid, smile spread across his face, down into the water, with several nieces and nephews close behind. Life was nothing, if not exciting, whenever Jimmy was around.

The only thing bigger than Jimmy’s smile was his heart. He may not have always done the right thing, but his heart was usually in the right place.

The only thing bigger than Jimmy’s smile was his heart. He may not have always done the right thing, but his heart was usually in the right place. By his own admission, he was imperfect, but he always got back up and made his best effort to do and be better. He was willing to do anything for anyone any time he was able. Numerous family and friends could share stories of Jimmy helping them in times of need, even giving them the shirt off of his back.

While the family mourns their loss, they also celebrate and trust in the mercy and grace of God. Jimmy had placed his trust in Jesus and continued to call out to God for help as he battled his demons in life. A celebration of life will take place at Yoder-Culp Funeral Home located at 1911 S Main Street, Goshen, IN. Visitation will take place on Wednesday, October 7 from 4pm-7pm with funeral immediately following. His brother, Rev. Dr. Jeremy Myers, and dad, Rev. Terry Miller will officiate.