Fred Michels

Visitation: Sunday, September 24, 2007 from 1:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. at Stevenson & Sons Funeral Home in Miles City.

Funeral Service: Monday, September 24, 2007 at 2:00 p.m. at Stevenson & Sons Funeral Home in Miles City.

Interment: Custer County Cemetery in Miles City

Frederick E. Michels, age 93, of Miles City passed way on Wednesday, September 19, 2007 at the Friendship Villa Care Center.

Fred was born on January 24, 1914 in Archer, Montana, the son of James and Anna (Fugle)Michels. In 1917, his father moved the family to the Fort Peck Indian Reservation south of Plentywood. His schooling started in 1920 when the family was moved to Medicine Lake to attend school there. Further schooling for the family continued in the rural schools of Sheridan County. Fred entered High School in Plentywood in 1928 and graduated in 1932. He spent the summer of 1932 and the winter and summer of 1933 working on the home ranch. In the fall of 1933 he enrolled in a Pre-Med course in the Northern Montana College in Havre. While going to college he worked for the F. A.Buttrey Department store and in the fall of 1934 he was offered employment in the new department store opening in Fort Peck, Montana. In 1936 he obtained work on the Fort Peck Dam as a store keeper. Fred worked on the dam until the spring of 1938 when he transferred to the Los Angeles Flood Control program of the Corps of Engineers. In 1939 he transferred to the Naval Air Station in San Diego. In January of 1943 he transferred to the Marine Corps Air Station in El Toro, California. While there, Fred resigned from Federal Civil Service after eleven years. He entered the Palmer College of Chiropractic in Davenport, Iowa. Fred set up a practice in Columbia City, Indiana and spent thirty three years in Indiana. Fred and his wife Bernice had two sons, Dennis and John and two grandchildren.

JohnMichels was killed in an automobile accident in 1965, Fred and Bernice retired to Texas in 1980. Bernice Michels died from a heart attack in December of 1993. Dennis died in 2006 as a result of a plane accident. Fred moved to Miles City in April of 1994 and lived with his brother Jim Michels. He remained in Miles City until the time of his death. Fred loved to travel and was proud to say they saw every state in the union and loved to go to dances and listen to the music. He also loved to watch TV.

Fred is survived by two grandchildren: Christina of Atlanta, GA and Doran of Portland, OR; two brothers: Jim Michels and ClairMichels both of Miles City, MT; and a sister, ElsieMedders of Plentywood; his friend and companion Bernice Criswell of Miles City, MT and numerous nieces and nephews.

Visitation will be held on Sunday, September 24, 2007 from 1:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. at Stevenson & Sons Funeral Home in Miles City. Funeral services will be held on Monday, September 24, 2007 at 2:00 p.m. at Stevenson & Sons Funeral Home in Miles City. Interment will follow in the family lot of the Custer County Cemetery in Miles City. Condolences may be made to the family by visitingwww.stevensonandsons.com