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In memory of

Michael William Oakley

San Diego, CA, USA

September 29, 1953 - February 22, 2021

Sep 29, 1953 - Feb 22, 2021

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Michael Oakley passed away on 2/22/21 at 3:45am after suffering a major stroke, which led to blood clots in his lungs and brain. He has been living with FTD (frontemporal dementia) since being diagnosed in 2019. The FTD changed his behavior and while typically a lose of apathy is associated, he seemed to hang on to that for my mom and I. If my mom and I were fighting, he might not understand what was going on, but he still forced us all into a hug. Towards the end, he lost a lot of his speech, but he still managed to say "Hi Toots" when he saw me, and always called for my mom as "Mur" or "Mur-y".

He died one day after the 46 year anniversary of my parents first date, back in Long Island, NY. He made sure to wait until the early hours of the next day to give my mom one last anniversary together. On 2/22/21, the 6 year anniversary of his mom's passing, she decided to bring him up to Heaven with her so he would no longer suffer from everything FTD brought on.

My parents were married for 36 years. They moved to California together, leaving NY because both wanted nothing to do with snow anymore. No matter the distance, my Dad always made sure family in NY was a priority. Calling siblings and nephews/nieces and cousins while making the long drives work took him on. For the past 35 years he repaired optical equipment, after learning how everything worked by pulling it apart and seeing if he could put it back together. I'm not sure if he ever found one he couldn't fix, as he most likely wouldn't have kept that in his back pocket. "If I can't fix it, I won't."

He loved to be a wise ass and play jokes on those he loved. Even towards the end, when he was more limited, he still found ways to tease my mom and I, never letting his sense of humor go. I would get so mad at him when he called me "Mur" and remind him "I'm Sammie", but it just mad him laugh to know he could still figure out how to get a rise out of me.

We're still learning how to be without him, but I know he'll always be watching over us.

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