Lloyd Robert Michels Jr.

Obituary Lloyd Robert Michels, Jr. passed peacefully in the early morning hours of 4 January 2021 at his home on Harkers Island. He had been in declining health for several months. Lloyd was the oldest child of Lloyd Robert Michels and Ida Marie Dwyer. He was born 19 November 1933 in Hancock, Houghton, Michigan. In the following years, he had two brothers, James Edward, Thomas J, and a sister, Mary Ellen. Lloyds family moved to Alamance County, North Carolina where his father worked beginning in the 1940s as an optometrist. Lloyd attended school in Burlington and later attended St. Marys College in Baltimore, MD and Elon College near his home in Burlington. Lloyd then joined the United States Coast Guard and soon found himself stationed at the Ft. Macon Coast Guard base as a cook. It was during this time that he was brought to the Island by another sailor, Howard Jones. Here he met his future wife, Lillian Agnes Hancock. Because he was called using his last name, Michels, by his fellow sailors, his soon-to-be wife also started calling him "Mike," and she and many others continued to call Lloyd by his nickname for the rest of their lives. After dating only a few weeks, Lloyd and Lillian, who was called "Sister," married 26 September 1956. They loved each other deeply and were each others best friend. She was his "Beautiful Princess" and he was her Protector and "Knight in Shining Armor." Early in their marriage, they settled in Graham and then to Burlington where Lloyd worked with Western Electric Corporation. While still working there he came up with the idea to build a large excursion boat to be used in ferrying and entertaining visitors leaving from the mainland towns of Morehead City and Atlantic Beach to and from Cape Lookout and Shackleford Banks. To make it happen he designed and oversaw the building of what became the 65 feet long "American Patriot" at Julian Guthries boat house in Williston, NC. After a few years later, he received an offer to move the business to the thriving Gulf Coast port of Clearwater Beach on the west coast of Florida. The family, which by then included two young boys, remained there for several years. Eventually, at the constant urging of his wife, they were able to return to the Island where Sister often stated her intention that she would never leave again. Lloyd honored that request and held true to that commitment to the very end. Lloyd found a life-long career in civil service at the NADEP facility in Cherry Point and retired from there only to start another small business in manufacturing and distributing mementoes of coastal North Carolina and its lighthouses. He also continued to serve his country in the United States Coast Guard Reserves for many years and where he eventually retired as a commissioned officer. Lloyd and Sister were blessed with three sons, Lyle, John, and Jason, and eventually with four grandchildren. They were the jewels of the lives of their parents, and there is almost nothing they would not do to support their sons and their families. Lloyd was a devoted member and worker in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Having been raised in another church, he nevertheless supported Sister in raising their children as Latter-day Saints. The same Howard Jones who had first brought Lloyd to Harkers Island as a friend, repeatedly encouraged Lloyd to attend church with Sister and to listen to missionary discussions. He was baptized a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in 1974. Lloyd and Sister were later sealed for eternity in a ceremony in the Washington DC Temple on 2 May 1975. During the years that followed, Lloyd served faithfully in many callings. He served as Stake (Diocese) Sunday School President, and later as Executive Secretary to the Stake President, L. Lionel Kendrick. It was while serving in that capacity that he was called to be Bishop of the Harkers Island Ward. He continued his church service without interruption and held positions of responsibility until just a few months before his passing. He was a faithful and devoted husband to Sister to the very end and tended to her every need as her health deteriorated in her final months. It could be said that in her passing he lost much of his own reason for enjoying life. His own condition began to decline almost as soon as she was gone and he never again was able to regain his former vitality and vigor. Now that they are reunited, it can be said of them that "In life they were not divided, and in death they were not separated!" D&C 135:3 A graveside service for family and close friends will be held at 2:OO PM on Wednesday, January 6, 2021 at Vergie Mae Cemetery. Due to Covid-19, masks and social distancing will be required. For those unable to attend, the service will be live-streamed on the Noe Funeral Service Facebook page or by clicking on this link: https://fb.me/e/3iP0wW3Yy In addition to his wife, Lillian, Lloyd was preceded in death by his parents, and his brother James Edward Michels. He is survived by his sons Lyle Robert and his wife Rachel, along with children Andrew and Bethany of Beaufort, John Avery of Wilmington, and son Jason Hancock and wife Lauren, along with children Clay Jason and Cole Thomas of Beaufort, sister Mary Ellen Kivett of Burlington and brother Thomas J Michels of Greensboro. Condolences and life tributes may be sent to the family at www.noefs.net Arrangements by Noe Funeral Service, Inc. of Beaufort, NC. Services Graveside Service Wednesday January 6, 2021 2:00 PM Vergie Mae Cemetery