Michael A. Yekalis

Michael Alex Yekalis was born on March 27th, 1951 in Charleston, South Carolina. He passed on August 14th, 2011 in Los Angeles, California where he has attended a spiritual retreat each year for the past 30 years. Our beloved brother and uncle Mike was a world traveler who saw more places than most of us will ever see. He grew up in the 1960s, graduating from high school in 1969 and was a 1970s surfer dude and rugged individualist who traveled along the east & west coasts of the US, to Jamaica, the Bahamas, and to Hawaii anywhere he could go to �catch a break�. He later became the proprietor of the �Wave Dance� surf shop in Neptune & Atlantic Beach Florida, and sponsored his own surfing team. Mike also became a fitness buff and he even tried his hand as a competitor in Iron Man competitions. Even up until his own end, he still worked out and rode his bike an extreme distance every day. Mike loved to travel and had plenty of stories to tell. Mike traveled to Europe several times, and almost every year to Central America for some of the most rugged surfing destinations you could imagine. Later Mike settled on India and Nepal as being the places he would visit looking for whatever truth he sought in those faraway lands. And of course, Mike also travelled to his Yoga retreat north of LA each year for the last 30 years.
Mike always dated beautiful women, but he never got married and never had children. I know that was a deep regret in his life. He loved Jane and asked her to marry him. Jane travelled with Mike for a year, and then declined his proposal. Then over the last few years he began to see Brittany Tavar (seriously) once again. Mike even began talking about marriage. They were quite a couple as they knew each other so well. They have been a fixture at our Sunday and Holiday meals: Easter, Thanksgiving, and Christmas. Then last year Mike came by and told me that he supposed that his relationship with Brittany was growing cool again... He had called and called and left messages, but Brittany had not returned his calls. It was three days later her family filed a missing person report. Mike was devastated... And we all were...
Michael had gone to school with plans to become a lawyer, but changed his mind on that matter. He did not care for the 9 to 5 daily grind, he was always making plans to go someplace he had heard about and had not yet seen. Michael was a great uncle for my children. They loved his stories, his jokes, and his sense of humor. We loved our Uncle Michael and will miss him very much, much more than mere words can convey�
Survivors include his mother, Edna Sims Yekalis, brother and sister in law, Stanley and Donna Yekalis all of St. Augustine, Fla., nephews, Benjamin Yekalis and his fianc�, Ashley Burger, Casey Yekalis, niece, Ana Yekalis, great niece, Zoe Yekalis. He was preceded in death by his father, Stanley E. Yekalis, Jr. and a brother, Andrew Sims Yekalis.
Graveside services will b held at 11am, Saturday, August 20, 2011 at Ousley Cemetery with Rev. Bob Willis officiating. The family will receive friends on Saturday from 9:30am until 10:30am at the funeral home. Condolences to the family may be conveyed online at www.mclanefuneralservices.com. Carson McLane Funeral Home.


Funeral Home:
Carson McLane Funeral Home
2215 North Patterson Street
Valdosta, GA
US 31602