Obituary: Michels, John Michael
MICHELS,
John Michael
John Michael Michels, devoted husband to Norma Jean (Kinzer) Michels, father of nine children, grandfather to 25 grand-children and 23 great-grandchildren,passed away at Sacred Heart Medical Center in Spokane on Friday, May 13.
He was 83.
John is survived by his wife of 61 years, Norma Jean; his four daughters: Margaret Catherine (Fisher), Washington DC, Cathy Ann (Lubovich), Bainbridge Island, WA, Terri (Jeffreys), Shelton, WA; Constance (Martin), Edgewood, New Mexico; and his five sons: Friedrich, Wasilla, AK, Erich “Rick”, Lynnwood, WA, John, Sioux Falls, SD, Paul, Kent, WA, and James, Washington DC.
John was born on a farm in New England, ND in 1933 to John and Catherine Michels, later moving to Chicago where his father worked for the railroad.
John’s family returned to farming in New England in 1944.
Later, his father operated a bar in Tuttle, ND before moving his family to Spokane in 1948.
John graduated from Rogers High School in 1950 before entering Gonzaga University where he majored in Electrical Engineering and minored in Philosophy while an ROTC cadet.
He graduated and received his commission in 1954 and began his career as a commissioned officer in the U.S. Army with service in the 101st Airborne Division, 77th Special Forces, and Ft. Bragg Intelligence School.
His first civilian position was as a design physicist with Allis-Chalmers’ Nuclear Power Division in Milwaukee, WI.
In 1961 he began a 30-year tenure with Boeing, working specifically as a professional engineer in signal defense processing, his zenith coming with his critical work on the Airborne Warning and Control System (AWACS), a key defense tool in the United States Military.
He earned his Master’s Degree in Electrical Engineering from Seattle University and his doctoral degree in Educational Leadership from Gonzaga University.
He ended his Boeing career as a Senior Scientific consultant.
John’s philanthropic and cultural work blossomed following his retirement from engineering, focusing on his educational historical prowess to help preserve the German-Hungarian (Danube German) ethnic culture of the former Hapsburg Empire in Austria-Hungary.
He wrote, translated, edited, and facilitated the publication of several books pertaining to the history of many of these German-Hungarians who later emigrated to North Dakota in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.
In the post-World War II era, many of these immigrants came to the U.S. and Canada as orphans: victims of a brutal genocide conducted by the Tito-directed Partisan government that swept into control of Yugoslavia during the final days of the Second World War.
Among these books was The Innocent Must Pay, the memoirs of Maria Horwath Tenz, one such orphan from this sad period.
Tenz tells the tale of her survival as a young girl in a Tito-sanctioned starvation camp, one of many responsible for the death of tens of thousands of Danube Germans.
John translated and wrote the introduction.
In the 1970s, while still an employee for Boeing, John traveled to then communist Yugoslavia and Romania to locate the hometown of his own family.
In doing so, he conducted first hand historical research, interviewing a survivor and eyewitnesses to this tragic period, that came to be called the “hidden holocaust.”
Because of his vital work in bringing this sad period to the attention of the world at large, John was recruited as a member of the 2002 American delegation to the World Organization on reparations and human rights issues of the Danube Germans meeting in Subotica, Serbia.
He also worked with the Banatski Forum on economic cooperation within the former Hapsburg territory and was on the board of the Danube Swabian Foundation.
He was recognized with the Gold Service Honor and a Cultural Award from the U.S. Danube German Organization.
In 2006 he received an honorary doctorate from University of Mary in Bismarck, ND which published many of his works.
John became a much loved friend and advisor for many descendants of this community, seeking to trace their roots and understand their history.
John’s extended philanthropic work included establishing several scholarships and foundations at Gonzaga University, University of Mary, and Seattle University, helping to provide financial assistance to many regional scholars as well as collegiate students seeking a religious vocation in the Catholic Church.
He was a member of Our Lady of Fatima Church in Spokane, volunteering his efforts with the Knights of Columbus and Serra USA.
He was preceded in death by his father John (1967) and mother Catherine (1988); his brother Jim (1989); and Michael (2005).
He is survived by his sister, Janice (Sister Laura Michels, SNJM), Spokane.
Besides his children and grandchildren, he is also survived by numerous nieces and nephews.
A Rosary Vigil will be held Monday, May 16, 7:00pm at Our Lady of Fatima Catholic Church, 1517 E. 33rd Ave, Spokane.
The Funeral Mass will be celebrated the following day, Tuesday, May 17, 11:00am at the same location.
Arrangements have been entrusted to: