Obituary: John W. Michaels, 92, Formerly of Salem

John William Michaels, age 92, of Bluffton, SC, formerly of Salem, MA died following a brief illness on April 30, 2014 at Hilton Head Hospital in SC. He was the loving husband for 69 years of Virginia (Bekeritis) Michaels of Bluffton.

Born in Salem, MA the son of Joseph F. and Josephine (Brawders) Michaels, he graduated from Salem High School and furthered his education in accounting at the Hawthorne Institute. During World War II, he proudly served his country in the US Army Air Force both in the US and in Europe.

Mr. Michaels worked his entire career in sales, first at Vulcan Electric Company in Danvers and then formed his own business, The John Michaels Company, and worked for himself until retirement.

He loved golfing, bowling, reading, music and enjoyed vacations on Cape Cod, but his greatest love was family and spending time at home with his wife, children and grandchildren. He was truly a family man.

In addition to his wife, he is survived by three children, Janet Loach, Elaine Rae (Peter) and Jeffrey Michaels (Amy); a sister Mary Miller; his grandchildren, Jennifer Loach (Karim Momin), Zachary, Joshua, and Spencer Michaels, Kristen Lavoie (Lincoln), Lauren Sleeper (Dean), Bryan and Emily Rae; and a great grandchild, Chloe Huffman. He was pre-deceased by his parents; his brothers, Joseph and Philip Michaels; and his sister, Marjorie Murch.

His funeral will be held on Friday May 9, 2014 at 12 PM in the Murphy Funeral Home, 85 Federal St. (corner of North St.) Salem. Relatives and friends are respectfully invited to attend. Visiting hours will be on Friday from 10 AM to 12 PM in the Murphy Funeral Home. Interment will follow in St. Mary's Cemetery. Those who wish may make memorial contributions to the Tidewater Foundation, 10 Buckingham Plantation Dr., Suite A, Bluffton, SC 29910 or at www.tidewaterhospice.com or to the hospice of their choice. For online guest book or additional information, please call 978-744-0497 or visit www.MurphyFuneralHome.com.