White River Junction, VT – Jimichael Engels, 86, died Easter Sunday, April 9, 2023 at Mountain View Center in Rutland, VT.

He was born James Michael Engels September 21, 1936 in Salt Lake City, UT, a son of Kenneth and Rebecca (Cannon) Engels. He grew up in San Bernardino, CA and graduated from San Bernardino High School in 1954, where he received many awards and was the boy's senior speaker. He received several scholarships to attend Dartmouth College where he obtained a bachelor's degree in 1958. Jimichael joined the Air Force in 1961 where he honorably served as an intelligence officer until his discharge in 1965 as a Second Lieutenant. He served as a Chaplain in the California Army National Guard where he was promoted to Captain by then Governor Ronald Reagan in 1970.

Following his heart, he entered Trinity College in the University of Toronto, Ontario, Canada, where he received a master's in divinity in 1968. While in Toronto, he met his wife Margaret Faith Maidment. Together, they had three sons, Trevor, Dominic, Justin (died 1970) and two daughters, Melaina and Hope.

Jimichael was ordained as an Episcopal Priest in 1969 and served three Parishes in Southern California. He then moved his family to Auckland, New Zealand. Upon returning to the United States, he served in Muscatine, Iowa and along the eastern seaboard including Parishes in North Carolina, Massachusetts and Buffalo, NY. He was active in online bible study and at the Bugbee Senior Center in White River Junction, VT.

In 2016, he married Manoel Airton Ximenes in San Paulo, Brazil. In retirement, he put his heart and soul into his book, God's Mantra.

Jimichael is survived by his husband Airton Ximenes-Engels of White River Junction; Melaina Engels of Billings, Montana, Hope Engels of Essex Jct, VT; Dominic Engels of Manhattan Beach, CA; Treavor Engels of Plano, TX; and close friend Galen Mudgett of Sharon, VT.

A memorial service will be held Saturday, April 29, 2023, at 2:00 PM at St. Paul's Episcopal Church in White River Junction, VT.

In lieu of flowers memorial contributions may be made to Bugbee Senior Center.