Michael J. English passed away quickly from natural causes in his home on September 25, 2023, in St. Augustine Beach, Florida.  He was around family in his last days. He was an amazing Man, Husband, and a loving Father.  He was a wonderful husband,  he cherished his son Justin and was his number one fan. He will be missed very much.  He touched many lives and cared so much about the people he interacted with, challenging everyone to always be the greatest person they could be.   He is survived by his wife, Paula English, son Justin English, brother Steven English,  Steve's son Shane English, his wife Jessica, their daughter Arya and son Aden Michael.  Michael's sister Rose Lotz and her sons Chris Lotz and his wife Stacey, Chris' daughter Sarah, and son  Patrick Lotz, Rose's son Chad Lotz and his wife Rebecca, and their sons Gavin, Paxton, Cannon, and Michael's three step-sons, Wess Green and his sons, Hunter and Alexander, Kevin Green and his wife Corinna, Philip Green and his wife Jillian.  

Born in Sacramento, California, and raised with his brother Steven and sister Rose.  After graduation from high school, he served in the U.S. Air Force and formed a special interest in history. Thereafter, Michael attended California State University at Sacramento and achieved a Bachelor’s and Master’s degree in Economics, specializing in antitrust and industrial organization and public policy.

Michael went on to have a management career with GTE (now Verizon) for twenty-six years. This involved rich and diverse assignments as director of quality & customer service, director-team lead for continuous process improvement, director of quality measurement, director-service program management, general service manager of customer service, area service manager, and senior auditor.

In 1989 he led GTE Telephone Operations’ Malcolm Baldrige application and site visit teams. In 1990 he published “Service Quality Surveys in a Telecommunications Environment” to demonstrate how customer satisfaction surveying needed to focus on inspiring customer loyalty. In 1991 Michael co-authored “How to Manage Outside Consultants.” Michael served four years (1993-96) as an examiner for the U.S. Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award. During that period he shaped the Total Quality Management system of GTE Directories Corporation and played a key role when that company won the 1994 Baldrige Award. In 1994 he published “Evolution: Quality Means Value” and “Baldrige Examiners, They’re Winners, Too.” For three years ending in 1998, Michael served on the U.S. Quality Council V, an organization focusing on the next wave of improvement in the year 2000.

In collaboration with Christopher Bogan, in 1994 they published the McGraw-Hill book Benchmarking for Best Practices: Winning Through Innovative Adaptation. Published in four languages, the book is highly regarded by performance improvement practitioners around the world and is in production as a 2nd edition to be published in 2003. Michael was a partner of Best Practices LLC.

During 1998 Michael turned his attention to selective speaking, consulting, and writing. In early 2001, he started the work to achieve the lifetime dream of writing a novel. He wrote that story, and it is entitled Not Forgotten, a historical novel that dramatizes, excites, and reveals how war can affect a family, relationships, and lifetime purpose and have so many ripple effects on the future of humanity.

Michael's life has been rich in love, family, and friends.  He cared for those around him, engaged with everyone - and never met a stranger.  He would always listen and try to be the voice of reason or say something you needed to hear in a kind manner.    He was a mentor to many, sometimes without knowing it.  

In more recent years, Michael has been enjoying local history in St. Augustine and worked as a tour guide for Red Train Tours, allowing him to share his passion for history and engaging personality with people from all over visiting the ancient city.    Michael was also working on some new writing projects, with hopes to take his novel,  Not Forgotten to the big screens and another novel with his brother, Steven English.  He inspired many to pursue their dreams and engage their passion. 

In Lieu of Flowers or Donations to a cause - please spread kindness, transfer knowledge, be someone's greatest fan, love more and call more, stay in touch outside of the screens, take time to enjoy family and friends and ignite your passion - on the daily not just a day! 

Writing ignited a spark in Michael and his family as he knew the value in sharing what you know which can lead to winning the knowledge transfer race - may you remember Michael and share something you know with someone else.   Transfer Knowledge, Share Excellence, and Don't forget to engage with someone daily - be kind, be like Mike would have wanted us to be. <3

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