Michael Francis Skehan (Mick, as all fondly knew him) was born in July 1950 in Kilmore, Victoria. He was the youngest child of Barry and Cecilia Skehan and a baby brother to Kevin (deceased), Claire, Adrian, and Philip.
Sadly, when Mick was just eleven years old, his dad (Barry) passed away suddenly. With his older sister, Claire, in the Convent and eldest brother, Kevin, in the Airforce, his immediate brother. Philip took over the role of father figure supported by elder brother Adrian. From an early age, Mick developed a love of trains and a passion for mechanics and motion; at any opportunity, he would accompany Adrian to the Kilmore East railway station on his daily mail run and take great delight in watching the train as it arrived and left the station, it was a great bonus when the Spirit of Progress also passed by and on occasions, Adrian would take him to a nearby level crossing to watch the Spirit pass by at full speed.
Mick attended St Patrick’s Primary School in Kilmore for the first three years of his education under the tutelage of the Sisters of Mercy Nuns. He then moved on to the Marist Brothers at Assumption College and finally completed his formal education at Broadmeadows Technical College. When he left school, he found work at the Kilmore Butter Factory and Model Dairies at Kew, where he worked until he turned 18 and joined the RAAF.
After Recruit training at Edinburgh SA, he started technical training as an airframe fitter at Wagga Wagga (RAAF base Forrest Hill). Stationed at various bases around Australia and overseas, working in Fighter, Transport and Maritime Reconnaissance Squadrons. In 1975, he was deployed to a Mirage Fighter Maintenance Unit in Butterworth, Malaysia, where he soon met the love of his life, Zai. Following a prolonged and adventurous courtship, they married in March 1977 at the RAAF Air Base at Butterworth; three months later, he was posted to Richmond in NSW and then on to Edinburgh in South Australia to work on the Orion Maritime Reconnaissance Squadrons. It was here, in 1981, their son was born, and three years later, their daughter was born.
His postings back in Australia saw him frequently assigned as the aircraft maintenance officer to Prime Minister Malcolm Fraser’s aircraft on national and international flights. Duties he was assigned to in the Orion maritime squadron included multi-national exercises worldwide, on SAR flight aircraft (Search and Rescue) escorting Royalty (Prince Philip and Charles) when they visited Australia; he also had many short postings to Hawaii and Malaysia.
In his 25 years of service in the RAAF he was promoted to the rank of Warrant Officer (26/04.1990), achieved his Associate Diploma in Aircraft Maintenance Engineering (Airframes) on 13/02/1996, and was awarded the Defence Force Service Medal 1967-1993, Overseas Service Medal S. E. Asia 1975-1977, Australian Defence Medal 1967-1993, Australian Defence Medal 1967-1993 and on his his Certificate of Service and a Retirement Commemorate Plaque in appreciation of 25 years of dedicated service in June 1993. His final posting was to Pearce, WA; on retirement, he settled in Perth.
In his retirement, Mick continued his busy working life driving a School Bus for Special Needs Children until he took up full-time employment at Airlite, a contract cleaning business. His Air Force work ethic flowed on into Airlite, where he was as meticulous in his work as he was with aircraft; he also continued with his education, achieving his Certificate IV in Training and Assessment in 2008; his problem-solving abilities earned him the nickname “Trickey Mickey”, he became the General Manager staying with the company for 18 years. Over the years, the relationship between Mick and Airlite’s Director, Jim, evolved from respected work colleagues to dear friends.
Mick finally retired from Airlite in 2011 to keep himself busy between frequent cruises with Zai and often with their children and, by 2017, their four grandchildren and friends. He took up Casual Employment driving Articulated and Heavy Rigid trucks for about eight years and regularly volunteered at the Australian International Airshow at Avalon. He was presented with a Certificate in recognition of meritorious service as a volunteer with Airshow Downunder.
In his private life, Mick was meticulous about caring for his family, home, motorbike, and car as he was with his work. His social life had many facets, including membership in the Ulysses Motorbike Club and participation in all the charity rides and rallies the club ran. Mick and Zai have ridden all over Australia and across many countries on their overseas travels.
Mick was diagnosed with cancer in 2017, more than likely a legacy of the chemicals used in aircraft maintenance during his early Air Force career. In true Mick fashion, he never gave in to the disease, putting up a courageous fight to the end. Sadly, Mick lost the battle in January 2021, just seven weeks after his eldest brother, Kevin, passed away.
Mick had an enormous impact on many people’s lives. He was generous with his time and loved to share his considerable skills and knowledge with his work colleagues, friends and family. His guiding principles were that if something was worth doing, it was worth doing well. This applied to his work and every aspect of his life.
