John Michalover (1939-1977) *37

I'm the younger of John MIchalover's two daughters. The last time we saw him was January 17, 1977. In ten days, it will be 40 years since we last saw him. We never had a memorial service, and there is no grave because his body was never located. My father had many interests. He was a chemist who worked at the University of Miami closely with Douglas Ribbons and Danny Northway. He enjoyed electronics, working on cars, and photography, including developing his own film in his personal dark room. His first love was flying. His eyesight was poor, so he was unable to fly for the airlines, so on weekends we would all go out to a skydiving hangar in Homestead, Florida, where he would fly the skydivers up and pull the gliders into the sky. He was never able to serve in the military due to his poor eyesight. He was lost doing what he loved more than anything...flying. He had many close friends, some of who called him "Abe" because of his resemblance to Abraham Lincoln. I feel that I lost out on many things not having a father, and I still think about him every day...when I see small propeller planes, hear certain songs that bring back fond memories, and mostly when I think about how he would react to the excessive expansion in South Florida, and how excited he would be with how far technology has come. I hope you're resting easy Daddy. I've always missed you. 💔