John William Michel

Well Daddy, you made it into the obituaries today. You were well known for announcing that you didn’t make it into the obituaries after reading the newspaper each morning, but today is different. Regretfully, we didn’t get to hear this from you today, nor will we in the coming days. It is with shattered hearts, we announce that our dear Lord has called you into his loving arms at the gates of heaven.

John William Michel, affectionately called Poppy by most of his family members, passed away suddenly Wednesday morning at home with his wife by his side. He was 78 years old. He was a loving and loyal husband, father, grandfather, great-grandfather, brother and friend.

Born on February 2, 1944 in South Egg Harbor City, New Jersey to Weinberg Charles and Helen Priedt Michel. John was preceded in death by his mother and father, brother Robert Charles Michel, and two sisters Elsie Michel Carty and June Michel Belazrak.

John is survived by his beautiful bride and adoring wife of 54 years, Andra Michel of Georgetown, TX; two sisters Helen Daub and Velma Di Matteo both of NJ; his daughter and son-in-law Vicky and Charles Bennett of Pflugerville, TX; daughter Angela Bullock of Georgetown, TX; grandson and wife Marshall and Dena Bankston of Hutto, TX; granddaughters Bayleigh Sells of Austin, TX and Shelby Sells of Leander, TX; grandson Bryce Sells of Pflugerville, TX; granddaughter Grace Draper of Pflugerville, TX; great-grandchildren Johnathan and Makayla Bankston of Hutto, TX; and his loving and loyal dachshund, Jelly.

John was born and raised in New Jersey. It was there where he developed his love for all things Italian including pizza, spaghetti and meatballs, and sub sandwiches. As a boy, John and his brother, Bobby, collected box turtles. Because he was so curious and passionate about them, he went so far as to tag them to see if he could relocate them in the future. This was just one example of the joy he had surrounding lizards, turtles, frogs and toads. He carried this love of creatures through his adulthood, when he had a couple of pet turtles that would come “running” for dinner when he stepped out on the back porch and called their name. During high school John joined the Egg Harbor City Volunteer Fire Company. After his 1963 graduation from Oakcrest High School, he joined the United States Air Force in 1966. He continued his passion for fire services in the United States Air Force where he trained for and served as a firefighter at Bergstrom Air Force Base in Austin, Texas until 1970. Immediately following his exit from the military, he joined the City of Austin Fire Marshal's Office as a fire specialist/firefighter, where he later served as a fire inspector, and fire and arson investigator. He ended his 27 year career in fire services as a fire dispatcher for the Austin Fire Department. Throughout his career, John built a multitude of friendships that lasted throughout his life. While he was serving for the City of Austin Fire Marshal's Office, John attended and received degrees, an Associate of Arts and an Associate of Applied Science from Austin Community College.

John devoted his life to his wife, children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, family and life-long friends. He led his family with the utmost dedication, unconditional love, never-ending patience and kindness, unending support and ever-present sense of humor. John had a tendency to keep everyone he was around rolling in laughter, as he was quite the jokester. He led everyone in his path to a life of joy and always wondering what John was going to say or do next. This quote from Winston Churchill might give you some idea of the character he was, “I am prepared to meet my maker. Whether my maker is prepared for the great ordeal of meeting me is another matter.” His passing has left a void for his family, friends and the world that can never be filled, yet we will all relish in the incredible memories we have shared with John.

John was an avid archer, bow-hunter, Texas Longhorn fan, builder, landscaper extraordinaire and all around handyman. John always had the tools for the job, sometimes two or three of each, and was regularly seen carrying screwdrivers, a metal straight edge, and a carpenter's pencil around in his pocket. Moreover, John was always seen with a couple of nails or screws protruding out of his mouth. John’s “Honey Do List'' was ever growing. If you asked anyone they would say, “There was nothing John couldn’t do.” Anything John built was of the utmost quality and built with extreme attention to detail. He built everything as if it was his very own.

Archery and bow-hunting was a life-long passion of John’s. He competed in archery at the Texas Firefighter Olympics for many, many years. He was also a member of the Monday night archery league at Austin Archery Country and competed competitively in the Austin Archery Club at various shoots. In addition, John was extremely blessed to run the Texas Shoot-Out bow and arrow javelina and feral hog hunt in Laredo, Tx. at the Callahan Ranch and later at the Chaparrosa Ranch in La Pryor, Texas for a combined total of 40 years. In more recent years, he led the Axis Deer Hunt in Rock Springs, TX.

Throughout the years, John was blessed to meet, work with and socialize with a wide-array of hunters from throughout the United States and beyond. In so doing, he gained an amazing group of life-long friends; many who considered him like a brother while the younger men referred to him as “Papa John.”

A visitation for John is planned for Friday, October 28, 2022 from 6:00 - 8:00 p.m. The family will be present to welcome friends and family. John’s service will be on Saturday, October 29, 2022 at 2:00 p.m. For those unable to attend, the service will be live streamed at the following link, https://vimeo.com/event/2547128. A passcode is not required.

The visitation and services will both be held at Cook-Walden Davis Funeral Home at 2900 Williams Drive, Georgetown, Texas. A celebration of life will be held on Sunday, October 30, 2022 from 2:00 - 5:00 p.m. at the Water Oak Amenity Center, 1001 Highwater Drive, Georgetown, TX, where John's family would love for friends to share special memories of times they had with John. All are invited to attend any and all of the events.

In lieu of flowers, the family asks that those wishing to honor John make a donation to the American Diabetes Association at diabetes.org.