Michael Lee Kappes

Mike Kappes went quietly into the night on December 18, 2019. He died of a heart attack. He was 60 years old and at home with his beautiful wife.

The family will host a memorial service as a celebration of Mike’s life on Monday, December 23 at 1pm at the Rogers-Pickard Funeral Home at 509 Carthage Street in Sanford, North Carolina.  Friends are encouraged to attend and share memories of Mike. 

Mike was born on July 26, 1959 in Columbus, Ohio to Ronald and Sharon Kappes. He graduated from Heath High School in 1977. He was a career service man who travelled extensively and served abroad in Desert Storm, South Korea, West Germany, and the Sinai Peninsula. In the Army, he began working in the Logistics Management field. Mike had 40 years of experience in logistics with 25 years as a contracts part engineer. He had deep experience in wartime material management and aviation repair parts. He was dedicated to excellence in everything he did. He had an extremely high standard for competence. He was respected by his team and was an admired friend to many.

Mike met and married his lovely wife Noi in 1985 while attending a series of logistics management training courses in Fort Lee, Virginia. Over the course of their 34 years together, they created a family and he helped raise her three young boys. To all of his sons, he was a good provider, hard working, and very responsible. 

Mike loved sports, often playing baseball and wiffle ball with neighborhood friends as a young boy. Later his sporting passion turned to football. He was crazy about his Ohio State University Buckeyes. If you knew Mike, you knew he bled grey and scarlet. They are having a great season and he has been enjoying every minute of it. The family is sure he is staying tuned to how they finish the season and hoping for a National Championship.

Mike is survived by his wife, Noi, who lives in Sanford, North Carolina, his son, Ron Kappes of Texas, four stepchildren, Patrick Ellcessor of Texas, Larry Ellcessor of Colorado, Brad Jones of Michigan, Ronda Ingersoll of Virginia and his mother, Sharon Kappes and sister Lee Ann Ettenhoffer both from Ohio.

His sudden departure leaves a hole in the family that will be forever missed.