JAMES ARTHUR STROHMEYER

1940-2021

James Arthur Strohmeyer, M.D., better known as Jim, Stroh, Dad, or Cheeto, was born in Harrisburg, PA on 5 March 1940, the eldest of three children to Arthur James Strohmeyer, Jr. and Agnes K. Kutcher. He graduated from Lancaster Catholic High School and then obtained his appointment to West Point through the Pennsylvania Army National Guard and entered the Academy on 1 July 1958 with the Class of 1962 (“Can do!”).

Jim was member of Company A-2 and, as a cadet, was active in the PIO Detail; Catholic Acolytes; Golf, Sailing and Rifle Clubs; and a member of the Ski Patrol. In his First Class year, he was a member of the Army Cheerleading Team.

Upon graduation, Jim was commissioned in the Infantry and after leave reported to Fort Benning, GA, for Airborne training and the Infantry Officer’s Basic Course. Jim chose the infantry branch and qualified for Airborne and then completed Ranger training. In February 1963, Jim moved to Schofield Barracks in Hawaii where he served as a platoon leader in the 135th Infantry Battle Group and later A Company, 135th Infantry Battalion of the 25th Infantry Division. In late 1965, he was promoted to Captain and served as the S1 of the 135th.

But as time passed in the Army, he sensed “healing” was to be his profession, and he resigned his Army commission in April 1966 to pursue medicine. Jim received an honorable discharge from the Army in April of 1966.

After graduating from the University of Miami Medical School in 1972, Jim completed his residency in Galveston, Texas, and took a position at Hahnemann Hospital in Worcester, MA. The following year, he moved to Houston to work as an anesthesiologist at St. Joseph Hospital, where he worked for the next 27 years. One highlight includes medical missions to South America with plastic surgeons to perform cleft lip and cleft palate surgeries. He also would proudly note that he never lost a patient or ever received a single threat of a lawsuit from an attorney following more than 15,000 cases in his long career as an anesthesiologist.

In retirement, Jim traveled the world, most notably to Alaska, China, Europe, and Russia, taking trains from Saint Petersburg, Russia, to Shanghai, China. He also made the 250-mile trek of the “El Camino del Santiago” in Spain at the age of 77. He was a member of the “Ancient Mariners,” a group of 1962 classmates that sailed in the Caribbean and the Chesapeake. His other passions included competitive tennis and running.

Jim is survived by his daughter Stefanie Ardavin, husband Carlos, and their sons C.J. and Kyle; daughter Lisa Yero, husband Ed, and their daughters Skye and Summer; son John Strohmeyer and wife Emily Daniels; daughter Sara Beck, husband Philip, and their sons Waylon, Miles, and Conrad; sister Judy Elkin Michel and husband Fred; niece Kelly Wirfel and husband John; nephew Todd Elkin Aetherwyn and wife Gwynessa; and nephew Craig Elkin.

After battling Parkinson’s for several years, he passed away peacefully on 26 November 2021. He never lost his sense of humor and love of his family and friends throughout his final days. He will be buried with military honors at West Point in 2022.