William Reeves Mikeal Jr.

Here is the one of the earlier ones that he loved to tell:

Knock, Knock.

Who's there?

Ever-interrupting cow.

Ever-interr…

Mmmooooooo…

Born on June 21, 1966 as William Reeves Mikeal, Jr., was known as “Sonny” all his life. In the morning of Aug 21, 2021, Sonny told his wife that he felt as if he was having a mini-heart attack and asked his wife to take him to the hospital. With some arm-twisting by his wife, he allowed her to dial 911 for an ambulance. During his ride in the ambulance, en route to the hospital, Sonny was his usual self—even through the pain, he joked and laughed with the crew until he suffered a cardiac arrest. After several CPR attempts, he could not be revived and was pronounced dead. He was fifty-five years old and enjoyed seven-weeks of retirement where he attended many overdue social events with local friends and even went on an overnight trip to Norfolk, VA to watch Styx in concert.

Sonny was an only child to William (Bill) Mikeal, Sr. and to the late Jo Ann Fletcher. His conception was a difficult one hence he grew up as an only child. As an only child, he longed for siblings to play with, so he turned his warm heart and mischievous side to the neighborhood children and cousins on both sides of the family. Most days were spent in Charlotte, NC, where he was born, and lived with his parents and his paternal cousins. Sonny’s parents loved nature and shared their love with him by taking him on many outings to the beach, camping, fishing, and rock-hounding. During the summers and holidays, he spent time in Whiteville, NC and Myrtle Beach, SC, with his maternal side creating memories with his cousins. This bond cemented a lifetime of friendship; despite how infrequently they saw each other as adults.

In the mid-1970’s, on a whim, Sonny’s mother grabbed a bag of “army soldiers” as a last-minute stocking stuffer. Little did she know that this would fuel his passion for the military. She used to say, “He would play with those damn soldiers all day, every day. I regret ever buying them!” With that driving passion, at the age of seventeen, Sonny joined the military — with permission from his mother, of course. Sonny spent twenty years in the Army stationed in Georgia, Alaska, Alabama, Korea (where he met a brand-new soldier, straight out of AIT who later became his wife after only ten months of courting), California, Kentucky, and Washington. He spent the first thirteen years of his military career as an Infantryman earning specialty badges such as Pathfinder, Jumpmaster Instructor, and Air Assault Instructor. As a member of the Army Shooting Team, Sonny earned the coveted President's Hundred Tab at Camp Perry, OH early in his career. After spending more than a decade as an Infantryman, Sonny moved into the Military Intelligence (MI) world as a Korean Voice Interpreter. Sonny’s last tour-of-duty was at 1st Special Force Group in Ft. Lewis, WA, where he finally fit and felt right at home.

A skilled and dedicated soldier were just a few facets of Sonny, those that knew him, knew his passions, which are best described by the Ancient Greek’s definition of love: pragma, agape, philia, storge and eros.

Pragma; his dedication to his work, duties, and responsibilities while using ethics as his moral compass.

Agape for his fellow human beings, respecting all cultures and traditions no matter where in the world he traveled to. Most importantly, Sonny strived to better the younger generation. As most who knew him will attest, Sonny talked a lot — this came from a place of strong love and passion, not a love to hear his own voice. Sonny was a firm believer in “passing the torch.” He felt he lacked proper mentors throughout his life, therefore he made it his life’s duty and mission to mentor all those who came across his path to give them every opportunity to succeed not only professionally but in every facet of their life.

Sonny recognized all human beings as his brothers or sisters and was willing to help anyone in need. In his final selfless deed, Sonny chose to donate his organs, tissue and bones to those who needed life-changing, or even life-saving, operations. He donated his brain to PTSD research where he will be studied at Duke University to help innovate treatments for those who suffer from PTSD. Even after passing, Sonny continues to help his fellow man in every way possible.

Philia; his unwavering loyalty to his friends and coworkers, even when it became detrimental to himself and his professional capacity. Often, Sonny’s moral compass and his ethos prevented him from betraying his higher ethics, thereby preventing him from climbing the proverbial ladder of success.

Storge; he bore unconditionally unto his three children by dedicating his time, energy, loving words, and all of his being. Another outstanding facet to Sonny was his filial piety to his aging parents by utilizing all resources at his disposal to provide comfort and security in their golden years. He spent the last week of life traveling to Charlotte, NC to spend time with his father and help clean and organize his home.

Finally, for his wife, he not only shared eros but also storge and philia. He faithfully practiced trust by letting her handle all aspects of their lives, respecting her every wish and concern, sensitivity to her moods and all concerns that kept her up at nights, forgave her many faults, and kept her and their children the number one priority in every decision that came in their way. Sonny not only taught, but showed his children what a lasting and respectful marriage looks like.

Sonny was a man of substance, with a strong presence. Even though he was an introvert, when in a social environment, he filled the room with the laughter of many spun by his abundance of stories.

Sonny always held his compass toward his family and loved ones; always strived to better himself by self-learning not just academically but by watching and learning from his friends and co-workers. Sonny will be missed terribly by all those that knew him, whether intimately, socially, professionally or in-passing. Sonny was someone who could not be overlooked by anyone in any situation because of his, sometimes too honest and infamous “dad jokes.”

Sonny leaves behind his wife of thirty years, Mikyung (Miko) Ko-Mikeal, their son, Jessup, their two daughters, Alexandra and Sabrina (along with future son-in-law Matthew Latterell), and his father, Bill Mikeal, Sr. He leaves his Aunt Kathryn Rayburn-Mikeal and her daughters, Debbie Mikeal-Smith (along with Rick Smith) and Sandy Mikeal-Hudson (along with Joe Hudson), as well as Debbie and Sandy’s many children and grandchildren. He leaves his Uncle William (Billy) Fletcher (along with Pam Fletcher) and his daughters: Katie Fletcher-Spellman (along with Jim Spellman and their son) and Kelly Fletcher-Yarborough (along with her daughters); and his cousins, Shay Renner-Sampson (along with John Sampson and their sons) and Devin Renner (along with Elizabeth Lichauco and their son).

Sonny was preceded in death by his mother Jo Ann Fletcher, and maternal grandparents William Fletcher, Sr. and Josephine Newton-Fletcher; and aunt Susan Fletcher-Renner. From his paternal side, grandparents Scott Mikeal, Sr and Laura Hunt-Mikeal, and their son, Scott Mikeal, Jr.

While we are grieving Sonny, we know the last thing he would want is for his loved ones to dress in black and cry. He was a fun-loving man and the life of every party.

To honor his memory, we’d like to invite friends and family in joining us in raising a glass (or three), share stories and tell “dad jokes”. Celebration of Life will be held on Sunday, September 5, 2021 from 2-5pm, with military honors at 2:20pm, at The Harbour Inn in Aquia Harbour, 1417 Washington Dr., Stafford, VA 22554