Lt. Col. Paul Mikeal

Lt. Col. Paul Keith Mikeal, 42, of Mooresville, NC, died heroically on Sunday, July 1, 2012, while fighting the White Draw Fire in South Dakota from his C-130 aircraft. The funeral mass will be at 11:00 a.m. Friday July 13, 2012 at St. Therese Catholic Church in Mooresville, where he was a member. Burial will be on Saturday July 14, 2012 in Todd, NC, at Zion United Methodist Church Cemetery. The family will receive friends on Thursday July 12, 2012 from 5:00 to 8:30 p.m. at Raymer-Kepner Funeral Home in Huntersville, NC. Lt. Col. Mikeal was born July 15, 1969, at Edwards Air Force Base to Jerry Houck Mikeal and Connie Edwards Mikeal. Paul graduated from Clinton Senior High School and went on to The University of North Carolina at Charlotte where he joined AFROTC and was commissioned as a 2nd Lt. and pilot candidate in 1991. He graduated from pilot training at Vance Air Force Base OK in 1993. After ten years on active duty he joined the Air National Guard in Charlotte where he continued his career as a pilot flying C-130's. Paul currently served as Chief of Standardization and Evaluation for the North Carolina Air National Guard. The family of Lt. Col. Paul Keith Mikeal remembers him as an amazing husband and father. He was everything a man should be and much more. A kind, enjoyable, thoughtful and devoted family man. Paul loved flying the C-130 missions, the incredible people he worked with and most of all spending time with his wife, Marlo, and two beautiful children. Surviving are his devoted wife, Marlo Partridge Mikeal; daughter Amanda Lee Mikeal; son Liam Patrick Mikeal; his mother Connie Mikeal of Clinton, TN; his sisters Tina Adkins of Knoxville, TN and Angela Yonce of Clinton, TN aand grandmother, Lucille H. Mikeal He was preceded in death by his father, Jerry Houck Mikeal; his grandfathers' Enock Mikeal and Joseph Edwards and grandmother, Eula Edwards. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to The Friends of the Airmen & Family Readiness Center, Attn: BGen (Ret) Fisk Outwater, 4930 Minuteman Way, Charlotte, NC 28208-3866. Please make checks payable to the FAFRC with specific intent of your donation in the "for" section of the check (i.e., General MAFFS 7 Memorial Fund or Mikeal Family Fund). The family would like to thank friends, neighbors and the extended community for their unyielding support during this horrific time. They would also like to extend their thanks to all of the people in South Dakota who have reached out with their condolences and support. Additionally, they would like to thank all of the men and women who put their lives on the line daily for our safety, especially the 145th Airlift Wing. Raymer-Kepner Funeral Home and Cremation Service is assisting the family. Online condolences may be made at www.raymerfh.com.