John Paul Michels
August 30, 1922 — November 25, 2014
John Paul Michels, 92, of Delhi, died Tuesday, November 25, 2014, at Manchester. Funeral Services will be held 11:00 a.m., Tuesday, December 2, 2014, at Delhi United Methodist Church. The family will greet friends from 4:00-7:00 p.m., Monday, December 1, 2014 and again from 10:00-11:00 a.m. on Tuesday, at the church. Burial will be at Evergreen Cemetery, Delhi.
John was born August 30, 1922 in Des Moines, Iowa, the son of Dorothy and Harold Michels. He attended Delhi Public School where he excelled in math, baseball, and basketball. After graduation he enlisted in the U.S. Army and was stationed at Camp Ross in Los Angeles, CA where he served as a Military Policeman. In 1944 he married Eleanor and the two returned to Delhi to raise a family and live for the next 70 years. For 30 years John worked as a field technician for the U.S. Department of Agriculture. An avid nature lover, he knew every insect, snake, plant, and farm dog by name. He loved birds and amply fed them year around prompting the neighbors to speculate that his activities had affected migratory bird patterns. John was a great community organizer – a long time member of American Legion Post 160 and the Delhi Volunteer Fire Department. As president of the Delaware County baseball league, he was often pressed into service as a pinch hitter and umpire. After his “career” in baseball, he was known as an organizer of horseshoe tournaments and won first place in his division at the Iowa State Fair in 1981. The interdenominational men’s fellowship group John helped organize met every Saturday morning for over 25 years where they exchanged life stories and jokes collected during the week. John is survived by his wife Eleanor; daughter Connie of Las Vegas, NV; Grandson Jon Keenan of Los Angeles, CA; daughter Nancy (Robert Evans) of Lake Elmo, MN; sisters-in-law; a brother-in-law; nieces and nephews.
John was born August 30, 1922 in Des Moines, Iowa, the son of Dorothy and Harold Michels. He attended Delhi Public School where he excelled in math, baseball, and basketball. After graduation he enlisted in the U.S. Army and was stationed at Camp Ross in Los Angeles, CA where he served as a Military Policeman. In 1944 he married Eleanor and the two returned to Delhi to raise a family and live for the next 70 years. For 30 years John worked as a field technician for the U.S. Department of Agriculture. An avid nature lover, he knew every insect, snake, plant, and farm dog by name. He loved birds and amply fed them year around prompting the neighbors to speculate that his activities had affected migratory bird patterns. John was a great community organizer – a long time member of American Legion Post 160 and the Delhi Volunteer Fire Department. As president of the Delaware County baseball league, he was often pressed into service as a pinch hitter and umpire. After his “career” in baseball, he was known as an organizer of horseshoe tournaments and won first place in his division at the Iowa State Fair in 1981. The interdenominational men’s fellowship group John helped organize met every Saturday morning for over 25 years where they exchanged life stories and jokes collected during the week. John is survived by his wife Eleanor; daughter Connie of Las Vegas, NV; Grandson Jon Keenan of Los Angeles, CA; daughter Nancy (Robert Evans) of Lake Elmo, MN; sisters-in-law; a brother-in-law; nieces and nephews.
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