Michael Brian Mondin

On Tuesday, June 17, 2025, after a short illness, the world became a dimmer place with the loss of Michael Mondin, who went by Mike to most people. As a husband, father, and son, he brought so much love and happiness to his family. His capacity for love was like no other. He was one of the most generous, selfless, and caring men who ever lived.

Mike was born in Ft Lauderdale on a rare day of snowfall in Broward County, Fl. Perhaps it was this unusual weather day in south Florida that started a lifelong affection with snow and cold. He was always excited to watch the kids and the dogs enjoy the snow. He is survived by his mom and dad: Gayle and Jim Moller; his brothers: Joe Moller; Jimmie (and Monika) Moller; and his sister: Judie Lau.

He is survived by his wife, the love of his life, Robyn Mondin and their beautiful family which includes daughter Cailey Koeckeritz and her husband, Stefan; sons Zachary Davis, Zackery Mondin, Blake Mondin and James Mondin. If anyone knew Mike, they knew that his family meant everything to him. He was often described as a gentle giant or big teddy bear, but he was also a formidable force if anyone bothered his family. He never missed an opportunity to let us know every day just how much he loved us. Mike taught his family what love is by how much he loved Robyn. They were both soulmates and very best friends.

Mike was the grandson of an Italian chef, and intuitively learned that food was his love language many years ago. Mike loved to cook and was fabulous at doing so. He shared his love of cooking with the children, often having large dinners with way too much food. He always thought everyone could eat at least double what they could really eat, then multiplied that again when choosing how much food to make. Often the result was take home meals that would last for days. He loved taking care of others.

In addition to his parents, siblings, wife and children, Mike is also survived by Robyn’s parents: Rev. Ansel and Gail Pace, brother in law, Ansel (and Isabel) Pace II, sister in law, Crystal Johnson, and many nieces and nephews on both sides of the family.

Mike graduated from the University of Central Florida with a degree in Finance. He was a commercial loan officer at United Federal Credit Union in Fletcher. One of his coworkers captured his personality when she wrote: “My workplace will never be the same. So many lives he touched, will never be the same! Mike, You were THE man. The man that could make everyone laugh, by golly you could turn the worst day upside down and flip it inside out like it was nothing! You were the man that feared us starving, so you went to the grocery store once a week and bought us all our favorite snackie snacks — not to mention cooking for us more times than I can count! You genuinely cared about us, and that is so hard to come by in a workplace. You nurtured us with words of encouragement and spit off dad jokes quicker than we could stop laughing from the first one. Your laugh flowing through the building radiated positivity — we couldn’t help but chuckle every time we heard it. You can’t get me started on how you talked about your family —this is where I really tear up. You loved your family. More than anything. Your eyes lit up talking about them, and we loved hearing you talk about them. I’m sure they knew how much you loved them, because that was just the kind of man you were. If you cared, you showed it! And there weren’t many people you didn’t care about. You would do anything for anyone!”

We would love for you to join us for a celebration of Mike’s life on Saturday, June 28 at 11am at the Groce Funeral home (Lake Julian location) located at 72 Long Shoals Road, Arden, NC 28704. In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to one of the following charities that Mike supported: Manna Food Bank, Blue Ridge Humane Society, or The American Heart Association.