It is with heavy hearts that we share the death of my Forever Love, Michael Lofland on February 25th, 2025.

Michael died on a sunny Tuesday morning after making his wife Debbie breakfast. Michael was a beloved husband, father, grandfather, brother, uncle and friend and will be dearly missed by all. He is survived by his wife of 58 years Deborah, children Aimee and Craig, and four grandchildren Lauren, Ash, Mia and Knox. We are rejoicing knowing that he is now reunited with his beloved parents, Mary and Knox, and his dear pets Muttley and Blue Dog. A memorial service will be held at Doeppenschmidt Funeral Home in New Braunfels, Texas on Saturday March 1st, 2025 from 3-5PM. We ask that you please come with your fondest memories of Michael to share as we rejoice his homecoming to the Lord.

As you all know, Michael was a beloved member of our family and will be remembered fondly by his 4 grandchildren. We would love to share some of our favorite memories that we have with our Papa for you all to enjoy with us:

Lauren: As the oldest grandchild, I consider myself lucky that I got to spend the most time with Papa. For as long as I can remember Papa was an avid adventurer and outdoorsman, which is something that he passed on to me and continued to be a focal point of our relationship through adulthood. As a child, I fondly remember summers spent on the water: cruising in his boat in Missouri, swimming in the springs in Landa park, long days on the Gulf Coast beaches, and our annual tradition of floating the Comal River (Papa always insisted that the Comal was better than the Guadalupe – I think he was right). I credit him with fostering my love for water! As an adult, Papa and I shared many of the same interests and hobbies – particularly skiing and traveling – and I swear I could spend hours talking to him about his favorite lines in Tahoe or his least favorite airport to have a layover in. During my last visit with Papa in December he gave me wine skin that he used to fill with sangria before shredding the double blacks off of KT-22 chair in Tahoe. A few weeks later he was overjoyed when I sent him a picture of me using the wine skin on a ski lift. "Keep the sunny side up!" He responded. I take comfort in knowing that he'll be with me in spirit on all my future ski trips and travels and I know for a FACT he's going to enjoy the endless powder days in heaven!

Ash: I remember every second I spent with Papa, from catching minnows and tadpoles, to using a water basin as our own backyard "pool." We would sing songs about bears whenever we went camping and hiked down into the bat caves when we were far too young to go spelunking. I will always remember our time together building crafts in the workshop, leading me to my love of art today. As I got older, these times morphed into heartfelt discussions until the early hours of the morning where we would share music, stories, and drinks. He taught me how to shoot a gun and taught me to always speak my mind, no matter what others thought. I will always remember our time together. Michael was an amazing grandfather who made me proud to be a Lofland. He will be missed, but I am proud to give him the send off and celebration that his life deserved.

Mia: Papa had a way of making every memory, laugh, smile, or cry unforgettable. I'll always fondly remember long tractor rides while he did his yardwork and somehow still managed to entertain the restless 6-year-old in the trailer behind him. Papa always had a new craft, or activity, or something for me to put copious amounts of glitter on. I loved going through his workshop or office to ask, "What's that?" and him having a fascinating story for every item. From the fireplace nights and the countless smiles, to the raunchy Facebook posts and grumpy morning coffees, our papa was truly unique. His presence was infectious, he was the toughest, smartest, funniest, most charismatic man, he was an astonishing grandpa, husband, father, brother, and uncle. Say hi to uncle tommy for me, I love you to the moon and back papa.

Knox: Papa always told me that I was his favorite because I was only one who could do boy stuff with him, like shooting hoops or throwing the good ole pig skin around. I'm going to miss the long conversations that we had about our teams and super bowl predictions. One of my favorite memories is when he took me to the Kids museum in town. We got so dizzy walking through the space tunnel. He always made the best ribs and tried to teach me the ways of the BBQ. I will miss our papa very much.

There are just no words, You are forever my love until we meet again.