We are heartbroken at the loss of my older brother. He was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer last February 2023. By March 2023 he had been given the information that if his cancer did not respond well to Chemo, and surgery was not an option, he would have approximately 18 months to live. He lived 21 months from that time. He did do the chemo and radiation and no, he was not a candidate for any surgery due to the major vein involved with the tumor. But my brother fought hard for each and every month of his life from that first moment. 

Mike had the very best kind of humor. While staying at a cabin in North Carolina, the cable went out in our rental. Mike and his wife, Lisa, and myself and my husband Jim, were attempting to play a board game about naming that tune from mid-50's, 60's and 70's songs. I thought this game was going nowhere. But little did I know, my brother was a prodigy of music. I did not have a radio when I was a kid in the 60's and even my first car did not have a radio. But Mike knew every single song and the artist who sang it on that game board! I fell out of my chair when the question was about an early 70's band and their top hit for the year 1971. Mike started by speaking the intro to the song, "About a month ago today, I was happy as a lark. But now I go for walks, to the movies, maybe to the park. I have a seat on the same old bench, to watch the children play, You know tomorrow is their future, but for me just another day. They gather round me and seem to know my name, We laugh, tell jokes, but it still doesn't ease my pain......." and then started singing "Have you Seen Her" by the Chi Lites!! I laughed so hard and was unbelievably impressed because I never would have guessed that my Eagle Scout, Dental NAVY Corpsman, and Veterinarian  brother would have had that kind of talent in his back pocket. He won the game, hands down!

Mike won at a lot in life! He always said he believed God could heal him, and wasn't angry or bitter when he began to get weaker and weaker. Michael loved his life and his family. He stayed with us as long as he could. He was most definitely one of my favorite people in this world. Looking forward to seeing him again in Heaven. Forever in my heart.