A memorial service for Michael Stephen Vakula will take place on Friday, September 4, 2009 at 3:00pm at George Funeral Home & Cremation Center, 211 Park Ave. SW Aiken with Rev. Ken McDonald officiating. Memorial donations may be directed to the Aiken County SPCA. 401 Wire Rd. Aiken, SC 29801-8743. Mr. Vakula, 38, of Aiken, died Sunday, August 30, 2009 at his residence. The son of the late Mr. Robert W. Vakula and Monika Zwileneff Podesta, he was born in Queens, NY and had lived in Ft. Worth, TX before moving to Aiken in 2004. He was a self-employed landscaper and had previously worked as an aircraft assembler for Lockheed-Martin in Ft. Worth. He was a member of First Christian Church, Aiken and had also attended Cedar Creek Church. Michael liked to fish and do any kind of work in the outdoors. He is survived by his mother, Monika Podesta, Aiken; his maternal grandmother, Maria Zwileneff, Aiken; an Uncle and Aunt, Nicholas and Louise Zwileneff, Fredericksburg, VA, several cousins and his beloved dog, Rowdy.