The Deacon's Bench
Members of the community are grieving the loss of Mike Mims, a retired business man and beloved deacon at St. Anthony of Padua Catholic Church.
Mims died Friday when the helicopter he was piloting crashed into a residential fence near The Woodlands.
Michael Gene Mims, known as Mike, was 51 and a resident of Conroe. He hailed from California and was a graduate of the University of Southern California.
Mims was a business man who wore many hats. He was the founder and chief executive officer of Gene Mims Investments, a real estate investments company, as well as the owner of Rambling Vines RV Park and Robinson Lake Vineyard.
His impact on the community, however, reached beyond the business sector.
After converting to Catholicism, Mims devoted himself to his church community as a deacon. In this leadership role, he was involved in a variety of ministries, including the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults, a program for adults wishing to become Catholic, marriage preparation, baptism preparation and theological studies.
Mims also extended his giving spirit outside of The Woodlands by serving on the board of the National Life Teen Program and leading mission work in Honduras.
…“Deacon Mike Mims was a rock,” said Deacon Ralph Risk at a church service on Sunday. “He loved searching out people and helping them in their need … God said, ‘well done, my good and faithful servant, come home.’”
Mims is survived by his wife of 30 years, Kate, three sons, Kevin, Robert and David, and his two grandchildren, Jenna and Camilla.
At the parish website, the pastor wrote:
Mike Mims was a beloved member of our community at Saint Anthony of Padua Catholic Church. Deacon Mike shared the passion for his adopted faith with all those he encountered. The love he shared through his faith, his family, his friends and the strangers he met will be remembered for a long time.
He showed and lived his faith by proclaiming, preaching and teaching. He was honored to proclaim the Word of God at Mass and to share his insights in his homilies. He loved to teach RCIA, a program he himself went through. He brought his boundless energy to all his ministry work whether it was Marriage Prep, teaching a Baptism class or teaching JPII Theology of the Body. His decision to become a Permanent Deacon was a natural extension of the love he had for the Catholic Church. Deacon Mike went far beyond the boundaries of The Woodlands in his efforts to evangelize by serving on the Board of the National Life Teen Program and leading Missions to mountains of Honduras.
The loss of any life is a tragedy, but the death of our treasured Deacon Mims is an especially difficult loss to bear. The parish of St. Anthony of Padua offers our support and prayers to his family at this time. We don’t often encounter people who quite literally have changed the world. All who knew and met Mike can say they have. We mourn his loss as heaven rejoices in its gain.
Eternal rest grant unto him, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon him…
Photo: Deacon Mike Mims, from St. Anthony of Padua Catholic Church website
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