- Date Of Birth: April 30, 1945
- Date Of Death: January 30, 2018
- State: Alabama
Michael Thomas Breland, age 72, went home to his beloved Heavenly Father on Tuesday, January 30, 2018. He was a native of Mississippi and a resident of Mobile, AL. Mike graduated from McComb High School in McComb, MS and from USM in Hattiesburg Mississippi, with a BSBA Degree.
Mike was preceded in death by his grandparents, Jim and Addie Evans of Brookhaven, MS, Joseph and Mary Breland of Perry County, MS and his parents, Troy and Eva (Evans) Breland of Hattiesburg, MS.
He is survived by his wife of fifty years, Hazel Maddox Breland. He is also survived by his adoptive children and grandchildren, Rhonda and Steven Mitchell, Kayla (Randy) McDonald, Andrew (Colleen) Mitchell, and Jonathan Mitchell, Laurel, MS, and great-grands, Ali, Zylo, and Zoey; brother, Gerald (Regina) Breland, Madison, MS; sisters, Charlotte Miller, Jackson, MS and Janet (Dwain) Johnson, Gonzales, Louisiana; uncles, Gayle Jackson Evans of McCall Creek, MS, and Lamar Smith of Gonzales, Louisiana; faithful nephews, nieces, and friends too numerous to name. Mike was also survived by Hazel’s family who considered him to be one of their own. He was Papa Mike and Uncle Mike to many who were not related by blood to him. He was a one-man neighborhood watch person on his street and made friends with neighbors, strangers, and the city sanitation crews. He was known by many bank and postal tellers without having to present identification. He considered the Semmes High School class of 1962 to be his classmates since he attended all of the class reunions except one with Hazel and grew to know and love them. His capacity for love and friendship seemed to be unlimited.
Mike was exceptionally faithful to his church in Laurel, MS where he and Hazel lived for almost thirty years, and to his church in Mobile where they were married and returned to serve in 1994. He was a Sunday School Teacher with the unique ability to teach all ages and circumstances, from children through Senior Adults. The Holy Spirit helped him change his teaching style to fit the situation. There are now at least five ministers and multiple church leaders who were taught by Mike as children.
Although Mike was not a Bible Scholar in the usual sense of the word, he read his Bible and took notes in numerous binders daily. He led Hazel in Bible reading and prayer for everyone on their prayer list each night. He would often read a scripture to her in the morning that he had re-discovered the night before, and apply it to some aspects of their lives. He was an amazing man and will be missed by many, but through Jesus, we know we’ll be together again.
