Richard J. Michalak

1952 - 2021

Richard J. Michalak

Richard J. Michalak passed away on Sunday, August 15, 2021 after a year-long battle with pancreatic cancer. Rich was born March 14, 1952 in Toledo to Sylvia (Sulewski) and Richard Michalak. He was a proud graduate of Central Catholic High School's class of 1970. Rich earned a Bachelor of Science from the University of Toledo and a Master of Education in Human Resource Development from the University of Toledo.

Rich enlisted in the Ohio Air National Guard and became a member of the 180th Fighter Wing on December 4, 1974. In February, 1976, he became a full time civilian employee with the Ohio Air National Guard. He retired from both his military and civilian positions on March 14, 2012. During his miliary enlistment one of his positions was Munitions Accountable Supply Officer (MASO) representative. He was invited by the United States Air Force to be part of a team that rewrote regulations changing the management and accountability of munitions from the Standard Base Supply System (SBSS) to the Core Automated System (CAMS). This enabled Maintenance to control and maintain ammunition in their system. In another special assignment, Rich was tasked by the Air National Guard Bureau to design and implement a training system to assist the Hawaii Air National Guard in rectifying errors in their maintenance and control of munitions. The overall achievement of this training elevated their inspection grade from an unsatisfactory to an outstanding grade. One of Rich's proudest achievements was attaining the rank of Chief Master Sergeant in 2008.

During his time serving with the Ohio Air National Guard, Rich had the opportunity to travel the world. Some of his deployments included Panama, several trips to Turkey, Kuwait, Guam and Germany.

Rich is survived by his wife, Carolyn McCormick; sisters, Donna (Don) Moore of El Paso, Texas, and Yvonne (Sean) Buckley of Toledo; nephew, Stephen Horvath (Brad Sevenich) of Columbus, Ohio; uncle, Melvin (Kathleen) Sulewski; sister-in-law, Colleen Coburn; and brothers-in-law, Kevin (Bernadette Armbruster) McCormick, and Tim McCormick; niece, Sarah (Erik Ruhling) Coburn; and nephews, Brian (Rebecca) Coburn and Matthew (Erica) McCormick; great-nieces, Anneliese, Astrid and Alice Ruhling; and great-nephews, Adam and Sebastian McCormick. Rich was preceded in death by his mother; father; and sister, Lorraine (Lorrie) Michalak.

Many thanks are extended to the staff of the Eleanor Dana Cancer Center at UTMC, the staff at UTMC, especially nursing staff on Floor 4A-B, and the caring and compassionate staff at Hospice of Northwest Ohio. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Eleanor Dana Cancer Center or Hospice of Northwest Ohio.

Visitation will be held Monday, August 23, 2021, from 2:00 to 8:00 p.m. at Walter Funeral Home, 4653 Glendale Avenue, Toledo, Ohio 43614. Funeral services will be held at the Walter Funeral Home Tuesday, August 24, 2021, at 10:30 a.m. with internment immediately following at Resurrection Cemetery.

walterfuneralhome.com