Mikell Arthur Cary was born on July 5th, 1951 to Elton Mikell Cary and Betty Laine Jackson in Atlanta, Georgia. He was raised in Miami, FL where he spent most of his life. He was a mischievous and rowdy boy. His beloved grandparents, Toby Walker and Nellie Mae Johnson, were perpetually on their toes. Even as an adult Mike would bolt straight up when Nellie yelled his name. A lifelong lover of design, a young Mike took a can of house paint to color Nellie's Lincoln Continental bright red. He loved his grandparents and frequently skipped school to be with them at their home in Homestead.
Mike graduated from Miami Palmetto High School in 1969. After a brief stay at Young Harris College, he moved to Aspen, CO where he made lifelong friendships. With his infectious charm, he got quite a few high school friends to go out west to enjoy the Rocky Mountains. He also worked for his father in Miami at Cary Marine, helping with the design and construction of the famous off-shore racing Cary speed boats. Toward the end of his life he found a renewed interest in preserving the remaining Carys on the water.
Mike met Alice Murray in Miami through a mutual friend. They married on June 28th, 1980 at the Plymouth Congregational Church in Coconut Grove. They were married for 36 years and welcomed a daughter in 1991. In 1986 he started Cary Construction in Ocean Reef Club with his wife, designing and building commercial and residential buildings throughout the Keys and Miami, including the Pink Plaza and Chamber of Commerce buildings in Key Largo.
In 2002 his family moved to Asheville, North Carolina and he split his time between there and Key Largo. He loved the mountains and would trick his daughter into going on long rides on the Blue Ridge Parkway with promises of fast food. Lauren fondly remembers fly fishing with her dad and going to visit Mike's brother Jimmy at the Land of Oz in Beech Mountain, NC.
Mike is survived by his daughter Lauren Cary, former wife Alice, his half sister Jennifer Cary and his step sisters, many cousins whom he loved, his close friend Mike Melley, and countless friends around the country. Mike was charismatic, funny, and could make a friend in any room he walked into. A true Florida boy, he loved fishing, southern breakfast and seafood dinners, and being out on the ocean to watch the sunset.
Mike struggled with addiction throughout his life. In lieu of flowers, his family asks that you consider a donation to Shatterproof, a non profit dedicated to addiction advocacy, research, and recovery: https://fundraise.shatterproof.org/campaign/Mikell-Cary
Lauren plans to spread his ashes in both North Carolina and the Florida Keys to rest with his brother Jimmy and his father Elton. She asks that you leave a memory to celebrate his full and colorful life and think of him next time you cast a line whether it be for a marlin or a brook trout.
COMPARTA UN OBITUARIO
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