Mickey N Meeks

Mickey N. Meeks (Mickey T. Clown), 63, of the Quad Cities and Hampton Roads Virginia, passed away Monday, October 26, 2020, in Tumwater, WA.

Arrangements have been made as follows; the visitation will be from 4-7 p.m., Thursday, November 5th, 2020 at Esterdahl Mortuary and Crematory, Ltd., Moline.  His service will be held Friday November 6th at 12:30 pm and Burial with honors will be at Rock Island National Cemetery at 1:30 Due to Illinois Covid Restrictions the service and burial will be private for immediate family only but the visitation is open to all. Anyone not part of the private service is invited to grab a red nose at the visitation and join clowns and friends with red noses as they line both sides of the street to pay tribute to Mickey as the funeral procession leaves the funeral home for his final resting place. The service will be streamed live and can be found at the bottom of the page.

Mickey was born on January 22, 1957, in Moline, the son of William and Wanda (Branham) Meeks. Mickey was a veteran of the United States Navy, joining at age 17 and honorably Discharging at the age of 19. He married his soul mate Sandra Darland on March 3rd of 1978.

He is survived by his wife, Sandy; sons, Joshua (Marissa) Meeks, Tanner Meeks, Brendan (Alyssa) Meeks, and Forest Meeks; grandchildren, Charlie, Ellie, and Maisie; siblings, Brenda (Mike) Whitt, and Victor Meeks.

He was preceded in death by his parents, and siblings, Rick and Linda.

The Legacy

Mickey first started his career in 1982 after being asked to perform his magic tricks at a child's birthday and from that moment on Mickey gave his heart and soul into creating his Legacy! By 1987 he had made giant steps in his career as a self-employed clown for children's parties. In 1988 he began a three-year sprint portraying Bingo the Clown at Davenport’s Ground Round Restaurant. In 1989 he started teaching at The Davenport Museum of Art which offered a class entitled the Art of Clowning. It was during this time when he, with students from his classes, organized and started The Quad City Clown Troupe, an organization that is still up and running to date. Mickey performed at many different events throughout the Quad Cities and surrounding areas, doing magic, juggling, twisting balloons, and making children happy!

In 1990, Riverboat Gambling Came to Davenport and Mickey helped open the Casino as the manager (clown) of the children's area! It was during this time, he along with his two partners Bubba the Clown and Dr. Bob began writing a book “Let's Twist” which was published in 1992 and sold nationwide by Ben Franklin Crafts.

In 1993 he took his family to Hampton Roads Area of Virginia where they resided for the next 24 years. Mickey would pick up and kickstart his career in Virginia immediately, twisting balloons at The Waterside Festival Marketplace in Norfolk VA and very quickly became a quite popular and sought-after entertainer in the area. In 2001 Mickey began clowning at CiCi’s Pizza in Newport News, VA. He would eventually become a manager for them, but no matter the costume worn, he was always loved and respected by the crew and guests!  In 2006 Mickey moved his management skills to the IHOP Restaurant on Jefferson Ave in Newport News, VA.  During his 31 years of active clowning and restaurant work, Mickey has touched the lives of countless numbers of people!

In 2013, after his first battle with Cancer, his working years drew to a close, he had found something he loved even more than clowning and that was being a grandpa.  For the past seven years Mickey has lived his life by doing just that, he absolutely loved and cherished his three granddaughters and they loved and will greatly miss their papa/grandpa, as will many others.

Donations to Esterdahls or through GoFundMe will be used to help offset funeral costs

GoFundMe Link