John Michael Stalans

John Michael Stalans was born July 28, 1951. He was the only child of Lois Gann Stalans and Virgil Stalans who loved him unconditionally. Mike viewed life with a “glass half-full” perspective although his lifelong fandom of the UT Vols could oftentimes be his favorite topic of conversation for days to weeks when their athletic outcomes were a disappointment.

His marriage to Cheryl (Cherie) Wilson produced his nearly perfect (in her opinion) and only biological child, Ashlei, who was constantly told, to Cherie’s dismay, that she was his spitting image. He would predictably respond “yes, but it came out better on her.”

A later marriage to Sandra (Sandy) Raby, came with 2 daughters, Kelly and Lisa, who he accepted as his own. Lisa later gave birth to his first grandchild, Haley, who coined his grand-parental title of “Mike-Mike.” Three additional granddaughters followed courtesy of Kelly: Sierra, Trinity, and Lindsey. These girls occupied a special place in his heart, even after Sandy’s passing and up until his death. Ashlei gave him his only grandson, Jake, and final granddaughter, Reagan. Haley blessed him with his first great-grandchild Hadley and Sierra followed with the births of Noah and Cooper. Mike-Mike played an immense role in all of their lives and had immense pleasure in doing so. His often child-like perspective on life allowed him to connect with them in such a special way. Ashlei often jokingly had to reprimand him for the shenanigans he was known to get into with his grandchildren which formed lifelong memories for them. He frequently could be found hanging out with Jake and Reagan in their basement for hours on weekends and schools breaks.

His loving marriage to Ann Elliott, with whom he immediately connected, created many lasting memories for his entire family, and Ann cared for him through his final years as only she could. Because of her, he was granted his final wish of being able to pass away at home on June 23, 2024. Although Mike suffered from many ailments in his final years, it never affected his optimism or his continued child-like love for life.

With Ann came her teenage son, Zach, who he once again took under his wing in a fatherly role and with whom Mike bonded by taking him to UT basketball games and teaching him what Mike believed to be important life lessons, such as how to throw a football.

He spent his entire 44-year career at TDS where he developed many lifelong friendships lasting well beyond retirement.

Mike is preceded in death by his parents Lois Cox and Virgil Stalans, step-father Robert Cox, wife Sandy Stalans, step-son Zach Elliott, and step-daughter Lisa Jones.

Mike is survived by his wife, Ann Stalans; daughter, Ashlei Callison (Clay); step-daughter, Kelly Eddington; best friend and step-son-in-law, Kevin Jones; grandchildren, Haley (Brandon) Dishner, Sierra Goode, Lindsey and Trinity Eddington, Jake and Reagan Callison, as well as great-grandchildren, Hadley Dishner and Noah and Cooper Kaminsky.

Receiving of Family and Friends will be held Thursday, June 27, 2024 from 4-6 pm immediately followed by a brief service at Berry Highland West Funeral Home located at 9913 Sherrill Blvd, Knoxville, TN 37932.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made in his memory to The University of Tennessee Medical Center Shuchman Fund https://www.utmedicalcenter.org/give-back/give-now which serves the physicians and patients of the Heart, Lung, and Vascular Institute at UTMC where Mike received so much wonderful care.