Michael was born on August 30, 1955, nine months and ten days after his teenage parents (John and Luanne) were married.  In the next two years he was joined by two sisters. Then John deserted his young family leaving his wife, at 21 years of age, to raise the children with the help of her kind and loving parents.  Several years later Luanne remarried and had another son who was eighteen years younger than Michael.

As a youngster Mike collected snakes, frogs and turtles and enjoyed startling his mother and sisters with the creepy crawly critters.  On one family camping trip he emptied a gallon jug of Kool Aid into multiple paper cups and held the empty container in his hands.  When his mother questioned his actions, he responded that he had caught a frog, whom he named Herman, and a snake, named Sparky, and put them in the jug with a little of the liquid so they had something to drink.  Then peering down into the jug, he exclaimed. “Oh, no, Sparky ate Herman!”

When they arrived home and were unpacking from the trip, Luanne couldn’t figure out why the supposedly empty ice chest was so heavy.  She discovered that Michael had filled it with water to accommodate a fish he had caught and wanted to keep as a pet.  Another time he made a home for a frog in the family bathtub.

Mike loved to play baseball and joined Little League where he had an outstanding batting average of 800.  He was a sturdily built kid, and when he hit the ball it really traveled; but because of his weight he couldn’t run very fast, so what might have been a home run usually turned into a double.  His teammates cheered him on screaming, “Run, Mike, run.”

He inherited musical talent from his maternal grandparents who were amateur entertainers—singing, dancing and acting on every stage and at any opportunity they could find. As a teenager he played the drums and formed a band.  Of course all the practice sessions were at his home, and his mother claimed you could feel and practically see the house vibrate.

Later in his teens Mike moved to Ohio and opened his own business, Heavy Lighting, doing stage lighting for heavy metal rock groups. Also his nickname was Heavy.

At age 24 Michael decided to take his band, named Thunderhead, on the road. He was riding his motorcycle on the way to a gig with the keyboard player sitting behind him when he was hit by a car that failed to stop at an intersection.  The impact caused Mike to be thrown fifty feet into the air.  Every bone on the right side of his body and eight of his ribs were broken.   His right leg was put together with a metal rod, and he was placed on a resuscitator to keep him breathing.  Michael lived for eight days before a blood clot lodged in his lungs.  When he died, the band broke up.

With shattered dreams and a broken heart, Luanne was unable to function and nearly suffered a breakdown. She feared for her son’s salvation, and only her strong faith in God kept her going as she continually prayed for his soul.  Finally in desperation, she asked for a sign: “Lord, if my son is in heaven, please send me roses.”   Two days later, on Luanne’s birthday, she attended a meeting at Church,   and one of the other women walked in with roses for Luanne.

An accomplished artist* Luanne commemorated the answered prayer in a portrait of Jesus with her four children.  Michael is the one in the center holding a rose.

*Luanne will do portraits of loved ones from photographs.  For details and pricing contact luluzoom@yahoo.com.