Obituary of James Tuttle Van Meter

James Tuttle Van Meter, of Mpls., MN, passed away peacefully on Sept. 27, 2017 at the age of 92. A native of Amherst, MA, Jim was the son of Ralph Van Meter and Eudora Tuttle. He attended MIT as part of the Navy V-12 program and graduated with a BS in Aeronautical Engineering in 1947 and an MS in 1948. He moved to Minneapolis in 1955 to join the Aeronautical Division of Honeywell. His involvement in the Appalachian Mountain Club led to a white-water rafting vacation on the Green River in Utah where he met Ruth Armstrong who was living in New York. They married a year later in 1957. Jim's group at Honeywell was transferred to Washington, DC in 1965 and after 12 years in Arlington, Virginia, was transferred back to Minneapolis. He retired at age 60 following a 30 year career at Honeywell. After retirement, Jim and Ruth travelled the world - over 50 countries, and he gave over 200 public slide travelogues. Photography was his life long passion and he was active in the Photographic Society of America and the Minneapolis Photographic Society. He produced over 1,200 prints in his home darkroom before abandoning it in 1998 in favor of digital computer technology. Jim was preceded in death by his parents, brother David, sister Helen and wife, Ruth. He is survived by his sister Marcia of Minneapolis MN, daughter Nancy Graf (Kevin) of Bloomington, MN, son David of Austin, TX and son Charles (Kathleen Cates) of Apple Valley, MN and four grandchildren: Lauren and Ryan Graf; and Caitlin and Carolyn Van Meter. A celebration of life will be held Saturday, October 14 at 2:00 pm, at Plymouth Congregational Church, 1500 Nicollet Ave, Minneapolis MN 55403. Memorials to the University of Minnesota Landscape Arboretum.