Michael Van Lieberman

Michael Van Lieberman, age 54, of Paola, Kansas passed away on January 25, 2014. Michael was born on March 24, 1959 in Wichita, Kansas to Hal and LaVerne (Sims) Lieberman. He was united in marriage to Beverly Johnson on July 21, 1977 in Paola. He graduated from DeVry in 1985 with honors. Mike had many jobs throughout his years ranging from welding to heavy construction equipment maintenance. He worked on building the dam at Hillsdale Lake. He was shop supervisor at J & J Metals for seven years and then operated a boom truck for Comanche Construction for 10 years and retired in the fall of 2012. Mike was a good, proud and honest family man and friend. He was a good mechanic and would always help his family or a friend in need. He loved spending time with family, golfing, collecting antiques, playing Texas Hold Em, shooting pool and winning many trophies. He was on pool teams for many years and he and his brother Dale qualified for Vegas Tournaments. He also enjoyed pitch tournaments with his friends to kick off the New Year. Mike coached Cam in baseball, Pee-Wee through Babe Ruth for many years and loved getting to know each and every boy. He enjoyed sports including a good game of croquet. A proud competitive moment for him was making a hole in one at the Gardner Golf Course in 2002. He was an avid fan of the New York Giants. Mike loved the Annual Roots Festival and volunteered for many years. He and his father- in- law, Wayne competed in several BBQ cook-offs and he loved smoking meat and serving his family and friends. Mike was preceded in death by his mother, LaVerne, brother Carl Cathey, and grandson Trevor Lewis. He is survived by his wife, Beverly of the home; son Cameron Lieberman, of Overland Park, KS; daughters Sarah Lieberman Wobker, of Paola, KS and Carmen (Mike) Lieberman Lewis, of Osawatomie, KS; grandchildren Tyson, Wesley and Mason Wobker, of Paola, KS, Larissa and Will Thompson, Justin and Chase Lewis, of Osawatomie, KS; brothers Dale Lieberman, of Olathe, KS and Boyd (Olga) Lieberman, of Goodlettsville, TN; sister Linda Mayo, of Olathe, KS; in-laws Wayne and Shirley Johnson, of Paola, KS; sister-in-laws Terri Johnson, of Paola, KS and Jana (Dean) Fonville, of Bryan, TX; brother-in-law Deron Johnson and partner Walter Bass, of Morristown, NJ; nephews Jake (Tina) Lieberman, of Springfield, IL, Luke (Katie) Lieberman, of Caseyville, IL, Greg (Misty) Cathey, of College Station, TX; nieces Lacey (John) Dickson, of Olathe, KS, Sanoma Lieberman, of Iola, KS, Dawn (Jeff) Frazier, of Titusville, FL, and Alina Lieberman, of San Francisco, CA. Cremation Memorial contributions may be given to Miami County Cancer Foundation. A Celebration of Life Ceremony will take place 6:00 p.m. Saturday, February 8, 2014 at Miami County Fairgrounds. To leave a special memory of Michael for the family go to the share memory tab. Miami County Fair Grounds Service: Saturday, February 08, 2014 at 6:00 PM Visitation: No Visitation