Larry Dean Mikels

May 30, 1943 — August 13, 2022

Larry Dean Mikels Profile Photo
Larry Dean Mikels was born on May 30th, 1943 in Council Bluffs, Iowa to Edward and Ileine (Ulfers) Mikels. He was baptized and completed his first communion at St. Mary's Catholic Church in Portsmouth, Iowa. As for school, he would tell everyone he was too good for it as he only managed to make it to sixth grade. Larry would go on to work on his family's farms and with his father in construction until he joined the military.
At the young age of 17 in 1960, he made his way into the United States Marine Corps and was later discharged honorably in late 1964. During this time, he was stationed at Twenty-Nine Palms and served overseas. While in the Marines he met his first wife Tommie Lew Steger and were married in 1962. They had two sons together, Jerry and Billy Mikels, and they brought up their niece as their adopted daughter, Lisa Mikels.
Larry and Tommie later made a home for themselves in San Diego, CA for many years and became well known in a small town called Poway. During the 70s and 80s the name "Larry Mikels" was well-known throughout the San Diego construction scene and at the local bars - He loved his beer and had a good time with his friends. Sometimes a little too much!
Larry later met his second wife, Laura Morgan, at one of the said local saloons and welcomed another daughter in 1986, Callie Mikels. He would later move to southern Missouri with his family and began his next adventure, building up Branson as many hotels as possible with his son and nephew at his side. After seven years in Missouri, the family relocated back to California then back to Missouri and finally returned to his hometown of Harlan, Iowa where he spent the remainder of his life.
Larry enjoyed watching old westerns, The Price is Right, Wheel of Fortune, Jerry Springer, and of course the news. He had a routine of sorts throughout his day and those were part of it. One of his favorite meals was fried chicken, mashed potatoes and gravy, and some sort of dessert. He would fight you for the last piece of pie or some ice cream if came down to it. He also enjoyed a good hand of cards. If you did not let him win a few hands he would accuse you of cheating but he was never the one to cheat.
If you got to know Larry or even just chatted with him shortly, you would quickly know that he loved to make people laugh and smile. He loved his family and friends. He liked to show off his skills in his wheelchair at the doctor's office and flirt with all the nurses. Larry would always try to find humor in everything even in the last week of his life while he rested in bed and struggled at times. The man could make anyone blush with his wide range of vocabulary and jokes. However, even with his sense of humor and strong-mindedness, he was loved and cherished by many.
Larry passed peacefully due to complications with heart failure and diabetes over the years on August 13th, 2022, having attained the age of seventy-nine years, two months, and 15 days. In addition to his parents, he is proceeded in death by his four brothers; Bud (Edward), Duane, Mike, and David Mikels, and his son Billy Mikels.
Left to cherish his memory are his first wife Tommie Mikels and his second wife Laura Mikels, his children Jerry Mikels, Jennifer Keddington, Lisa Mikels, and Callie Mikels-Laird; his stepdaughter Cassie Asmus-Burdick; his grandchildren Stan Mikels, Willy and Wyatt Mikels, Jonathan, Felton, and Leila Spears, Rebecca and Trenton Smith, Kaitlyn Holley, and Caydence Williams and Isaac Laird; his great-grandchildren Greyson and Caleb Mikels and Cove, Bentley, Romey, and Haysen Smith and Zayden Spears, many nieces and nephews and extended family members.
In honor of Larry, his family asks that instead of flowers you please make a donation to the American Heart Association using the following link: http://www2.heart.org/goto/InHonorOfLarryMikels

A celebration of life will be held at a later date and will be announced by his daughter Callie Mikels.

To order memorial trees or send flowers to the family in memory of Larry Dean Mikels, please visit our flower store.

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