Michael Alexander Pankion

Michael “Mike” A. Pankion passed away peacefully at the age of 83, at Hospice of Cincinnati. He was born March 10, 1942, the second child of Alex and Ann (nee Wasiunyk) Pankion in Cleveland Ohio. He is preceded in death by his parents and his older sister Norma Jean Johns. He is survived by his wife of 60 years, Judy Marie (nee Bell) Pankion; his children Michael Scott (Sheri) in Anchorage AK, Karen Marie DeWine in Cincinnati OH, and Kathleen Marie Lynch (Brian) in Bellingham MA; his grandchildren, Michael DeWine (Abby), Matthew DeWine (Maria), Brian DeWine, Colin Lynch, Aidan Lynch, Alex Pankion, Charlotte Pankion, Alden Pankion, and Andy Pankion.

When Mike was in elementary school, his family moved to Pennsylvania where he graduated from Conneaut Valley high school. After high school he served in the Navy, stationed aboard the aircraft carrier, Franklin D. Roosevelt. Then, after his honorable discharge, he attended Penn State University earning a degree in Engineering.

Mike and Judy met and began dating in high school. They stayed connected writing letters while he was in the Navy, then college, and she was in nursing school. After both graduated, they married on June 27, 1964 and started a family, settling in the Cleveland area. He built the family’s third home in Concord Township, Ohio, and 5 years later, they moved to the Cincinnati area.

Mike was a sportsman who enjoyed everything outdoors - hunting, fishing, camping, sailing on Lake Erie, skiing, and hiking with his son, Michael, in Alaska. He was adventurous. He held a private flying license and flew small planes all over Ohio whenever he got a chance.

Mike began woodworking in his mid-20s, building doll cradles for the Methodist church Fall craft shows. He built a two-story doll house for Karen and Kathy complete with working lights, shaker shingles, wallpaper, and miniature furniture. He was featured in many local publications in the Cleveland area for his work. In retirement, he traveled the United States demonstrating woodworking equipment at trade shows. That is when his passion for woodturning was born. He was immensely talented with the lathe, creating beautiful vases and bowls made from a variety of carefully selected native and non-native woods. When he stopped traveling, he taught his craft to others at the Ohio Valley Woodturning Guild and for a short time at the Applied Science Department of the University of Cincinnati. He sold his woodturnings at art fairs in Southwest Ohio. One of his favorite venues was MadTree in Oakley where he had quite a following and held his final show in December 2024.

He loved standing on the sidelines or sitting in the stands, in Cincinnati, Chicago and beyond, supporting and cheering on his grandchildren in soccer, baseball, basketball, lacrosse, hockey, track and cross-country. He was a favorite among the K-8 teachers at St. Mary in Hyde Park as he never missed a Grandparents’ Day lunch.

Last October, he was thrilled to be a participant in the Honor Flight Program traveling to Washington D.C., with fellow veterans.

Mike's final services will be held at Bethany Church in Liberty Twp., Ohio, where family and friends will gather for visitation on June 9, 2025, from 10:00 AM to 11:00 AM, followed by a memorial service from 11:00 AM to 12:00 PM. Memorial donations may be mailed to Hospice of Cincinnati,  P.O. Box 633597, Cincinnati, OH 45263 or by donating online.