Michel Lee Gunia, 63, passed away unexpectedly on August 10 ^th , 2021 doing what he loved.

Visitation will be held Friday, August 13, 2021 from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. with prayer service starting at 7:00 p.m. at the First Baptist Church, Linton, ND.

Funeral Service for Mike will be on Saturday, August 14, 2021, at 10:30 am at the First Baptist Church, Linton, with Rev. Rich Cook officiating. Myers Funeral Home of Linton will be live streaming Mike's service for any family and friends that can't attend at www.Myersfh.com under Mike's obituary.

Michel was born to Leon and JoAnn (Huber) Gunia in 1957 in Bismarck, ND; the third of six siblings. The family moved to New Hope, MN when Mike was two, where he graduated from Cooper High School. Mike found his love of aviation as a child watching the local ND sprayers in the summers. In typical Mike fashion, he got his pilot's license before he had a driver's license and began flying as a junior in high school. Mike was the star of his high school gymnastics team and excelled in parallel bars and high bar. He never missed a chance to show off his gymnastic skills.

After high school, he received his Airframe & Powerplant Degree at the MSP airport and worked at the Crystal Airport. Mike was always up for an adventure, traveling around the world, spending five months working in Antarctica as a heavy equipment operator, and spending a month in Australia.

Mike moved to North Dakota in 1987 after spending time with his uncle and working at Temvik Oil. The family farm near Temvik became their home where they raised their four children, Adrien, Joseph, Kimberly and Laura.  Many reruns of Star Wars, old westerns, and war movies were watched with a bowl of ice cream with chocolate syrup as everyone had their spot on the floor. Mike's strong Christian faith guided him through every aspect of his life.

After the death of his uncle, Mike took odd jobs including Dockter's Blacksmith as well as his own trucking company "Pride of the Prairie."  He was finally settled when he became the Linton Airport manager and their in-house mechanic.  Crop spraying came soon after and Mike worked tirelessly to build North Central Aviation, while also continuing to advocate for growth at the Linton Airport.

After all the years of working on planes- as a profession, Mike found great joy in his restored A-T6 Texan which quickly became his favorite hobby.  On any given day, you could hear the deep rumble of his plane around Linton, as he often flew to fly-ins, airshows, as well as doing flyovers or just a late flight on a calm evening.

Mike had a sense of humor that was unmatched, and he had many friends both in his community and in the aviation community. He had an ability to strike up a conversation with anyone, and found many matching passions which turned into lifelong friends. Many a farmer would tell stories of heart attacks as Mike would buzz their truck or tractor, which he would find hilarious when you yelled at him later.

Mike is survived by his children, Joseph (Marlina), Kimberly, Laura (Nick) Beastrom, stepdaughter, Adrien (Chris) Roehrich, 11 grandchildren, parents Leon & JoAnn Gunia, siblings Marc, Monte (Kendra), Myles (Val), Shelly (Steve) Schoen, brother-in-law Tom Ochsenbauer, and many nieces and nephews.

Preceeded in death Marcy (Gunia) Ochsenbauer.

Also survived by his beloved Christmas Tree and Dancing Lady Lamp.

In lieu of flowers, memorials can be made to First Baptist Church of Linton and Sand Creek Cemetery at BNC Bank, PO box 910, Linton, ND 58552.