Born in Downey, California, in 1947, Michael loved Jesus Christ, his family, and his many friends. He was the second in a family of five children, and throughout his life expressed special gratitude for the care of his mother Patricia, and his Grandparents Chester and Lorena Kyle.
Michael served in the 820th Red Horse Civil Engineer Corps of the United States Air Force in 1964, during the Vietnam War. He had many stories to tell about the antics, and men he cared for in the service. He told about the night, high on the water tower, which got him dubbed the “Mad Russian;” and also about the bunk-mate he loved, who bested him with his martial art skills, and took him to a movie about the Bible. He had much to say about the many men that he came to know during that time. Upon returning home from Vietnam, he fell in love with his bride, Sandra, and he also fell in love with his Savior Jesus Christ.
Those who knew him during the sixties would not have imagined that he would become a Christian. However, Michael began to read his Bible. As he read, he felt that God was speaking to him. The friends he told thought that he had gone over the edge. But not long after he started reading his Bible, he attended a church meeting led by Pastor Chuck Smith. When Chuck Smith spoke, he began to say the same things that Michael had felt he heard from the Lord. In talking about it later he said that “he was happy that he had not gone crazy! This guy was hearing God too!”
Michael embraced new life and forgiveness of sins through Jesus Christ. He continued on that path until the day he died, sharing with others about what he had found in Jesus Christ. His greatest concern was for those he loved to know Jesus. This was a defining aspect of his life.
Along with his love for the Lord he truly loved his wife Sandra. They met because she was the pretty, younger sister of his good friend, and his other best friend lived across the street from her house. There is too much to say here about how the Lord used these two to shape the life of one another. Blessed to have found each other at an early age, and to have found Jesus, they have had a wonderful family, and have grown old with one another by the grace of their Lord Jesus. They celebrated their 47thwedding anniversary in February.
Throughout his lifetime Michael loved to serve others. He cared for the men he taught Bible Studies to, the young men to whom he became a second father, and his patients, during his career in Orthotics and Prosthetics. He studied Orthotics at Cerritos College, and Prosthetics at the University of California, Los Angeles, and maintained the close friendships he made during his education throughout his lifetime. He was particularly committed to his co-workers at Johnson's Orthopedic, where he spent most of his career, and his child and Down Syndrome patients. It was his joy to make them laugh.
Michael lived such a full life that those who knew him best would frequently hear a new story, usually a hilarious one, that they had never heard before. There is too much to mention about the investment in others he made during his lifetime. He was loyal, intellectual, funny, and will be deeply missed. The family would like to invite you to meet up with Michael again in Heaven where he is with his Savior Jesus Christ. Please receive the Lord as your Savior today, it is what Mike would have wanted!
Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life; the one who believes in Me will live, even if he dies, and everyone who lives and believes in Me will never die. Do you believe this?” John 11:24-25
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