HOWARD — Rodney S. Mickley, 81, died Sunday, June 21, 2009, at Summerville at HillenVale.
He was born Feb. 8, 1928, to the late Ralph S. and Clara L. (Gardner) Mickley in Danville. He graduated from Danville High School in 1946 and purchased a farm in Howard Township where he farmed until he retired. Rodney was a member of St. Luke Catholic Church in Danville and the Knights of Columbus. He was also a past member of the Danville Lions Club, the Danville Board of Education, and the Danville Fire Department and EMS.
He is survived by his wife, Caroline (Lorenzen) Mickley, whom he married on Feb. 19, 1949; six sons, Frederick (Linda), Jerald (Elizabeth), Leonard (Sandra), Carl (Kay), Larry (Julie) and Ronald (Michelle) Mickley; five daughters, Christine (Robert) Pitts, Mary (Timothy) Payne, Teresa Hendon, Ellen (Thomas) Bratton and Margaret (Randy) Ford; 38 grandchildren; 25 great-grandchildren; two brothers, Harold and Leo Mickley; and a sister, Martha Stutz.
He was preceded in death by brothers, William, Louis F., Glen, and Earl Mickley; a sister, Ruth Ann Herbert; and three grandchildren.
Rodney passed on to his family a strong work ethic, a belief in the value of education, service to his community and church, and a love of hunting, fishing, card playing and sports.
Friends and family may call on Wednesday from 2 to 4 and 6 to 8 p.m. at the St. Luke Church on Market Street in Danville, where a Funeral Mass will be held Thursday, June 25, at 11 a.m. The Rev. F. Richard Snoke and Monsignor Carl Claggett will officiate. Burial will be in St. Luke Cemetery on Danville-Howard Road.
Memorial contributions may be made to Hospice of Knox County, 17700 Coshocton Road, Mount Vernon, OH 43050, or to the Danville Fire Department (EKCJFD), P.O. Box 526, Danville, OH 43014. Information is available at www.fischerfuneralhome.com.
