Michael Kolb

Michael "Mike" Reed Kolb, 76, of Lebanon peacefully passed away Saturday, Oct. 19, 2024.

Mike graduated from Assumption High School in East St. Louis, Illinois, in 1966.

Mike met his wife, Gayla, while learning to country line dance, in Camdenton, where they were dance partners for two years. In the summer of 1993, Mike accepted Jesus into his heart before marrying Gayla on Aug. 6, 1994, at Heartland Worship Center in Camdenton. Mike and Gayla celebrated their 30th wedding anniversary this August.

Mike was a corporal in the U.S. Marine Corps and served a combat tour in Vietnam from 1968-1969, where he was awarded a Purple Heart.

He also was a police officer with the Fairview Heights (Illinois) Police Department and the Osage Beach Police Department. He later retired from a 20-year career with Missouri Department of Alcohol and Tobacco Control in 2010.

Mike was an avid fisherman and served as a fishing guide at the Lake of the Ozarks. He also loved snow skiing in Colorado, white water rafting in West Virginia and rooting for the St. Louis Cardinals and Kansas City Chiefs.

He recently was an active member of Southern Heights Christian Church in Lebanon. Prior to moving to Lebanon, he was an active member in benevolence ministries at Cape First Assembly of God in Cape Girardeau, Heartland Worship Center in Camdenton and Osage Hills Baptist Church in Osage Beach.

Mike was a devoted husband, father, brother, son and uncle, dedicated to his faith and his community. His family was incredibly proud of his unwavering service to the country, community and church.

He was preceded in death by his father, Robert E. Kolb; his mother, Norma Jean Kolb; and his brother, Brian E. Kolb.

Mike is survived by his wife, Gayla Kolb of Lebanon; daughter, Lindsey Kolb of Alexandria, Virginia; siblings, Douglas (Carol) Kolb of Weatherford, Texas; Monica Curtis of New Athens, Illlinois; and Allison McAllister of Freeburg, Illinois.

Memorials may be made to the family at Holman-Howe Funeral Home, 320 S. Adams Ave., Lebanon, MO 65536.

A visitation will be at 1 p.m. Friday, Oct. 25, at Southern Heights Christian Church in Lebanon, followed by a service at 2 p.m. A private burial with full military honors will be in Centralia.

Southeast Missourian