The Rev. Milas "Mike" Sease III

The Rev. Milas “Mike” Sease III, 64, of Columbia, went to be with his loving Lord on Saturday, April 26, 2014.

Born January 31, 1950, he was the son of the late M.Y. and Edith Whittle Sease. He was a 1968 graduate of Eau Claire high school in Columbia, SC where he graduated with honors. He was a 1972 graduate of Newberry College where he was a founding father of Theta Chi fraternity, a member of the Student Government Association, The Newberrian, Newberry College Singers and Madrigalians, a Who’s Who Inductee, and a member of the Bachman Honors Society. Upon graduation of Newberry, Mike attended the Lutheran Theological Southern Seminary where he obtained his Masters of Divinity.

Pastor Mike served numerous congregations in Florida and South Carolina over the 30 years of his ministry. He was called to St. John’s Lutheran Church in Winter Park, FL where he served as Associate Pastor. Mike then accepted a call to South Carolina where he served at St. Mark’s, Prosperity, and Corinth, Saluda. He served at Resurrection Lutheran in Columbia. He returned to the church of his seminary internship in Jacksonville, FL, Trinity Lutheran. After serving for 10 years in Jacksonville, he returned to his hometown of Columbia where he served as Senior Pastor at St. Paul’s Lutheran. Mike’s last parish was St. Matthew’s Lutheran in Lexington, SC. He enjoyed his service through Lutheridge, Via De Cristo, the South Carolina Lieutenant Governor’s Council on Aging, and served as Dean of the Midlands Lutheran Churches of the SC Synod.

Mike is survived by his loving and devoted wife of almost 37 years, Merrilyn Rickert Sease. He is also survived by a son, Russel (Jaclyn) Sease of Greenville, SC and a daughter, Angela (Zeb) Reid of Newberry. He also leaves four beautiful grandchildren, Zoe and Zarek Reid and Elon and Jackson Sease. He is also survived by sisters Alice Truluck and Susan (Randy) Pardee, mother-in-law, Willene Evans Rickert and a host of nieces and nephews.

A memorial service will be held Saturday, May 17, 2014 at 2:00pm at Wiles Chapel at Newberry College. The family wishes to express their gratitude to the staff at Carroll Campbell Place and Hospice Care of Tri-County. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to Newberry College, 2100 College Street, Newberry, SC 29108, or the Lewy Body Dementia Association, 912 Killian Hill Road, S.W., Lilburn, GA 30047.

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