Happy Birthday Mike! You are once again, two years older than me! Till we meet again and ever after, your sister with love

Mike, Always remembered, but today I'm remembering you as this date is when you stepped into life with the Angels. You are Loved with all my heart. Your sister forever and ever, Carol

Today, I am feeling more lonely than usual. I read a verse the other day that resonated with me: " Two things that I will never forget: The way you looked at me the for the first time and ..... the last time". The way you looked desperately at me to understand what was happening to you that morning will never leave me. The last words you said were " I don't know what's happening to me". And then you were gone. I guess you did not feel pain as bewilderment seemed to be your concern. I did not realize what was happening either. It all seemed so surreal - I kept thinking you would awaken but you did not. I will always thank God for those wonderful peaceful 3 days before you passed that we were able to enjoy each other's company for our last week together. I miss you dearly and you will forever be in my heart.

You are in my thoughts and my heart more than usual today as it would have been out 40th wedding anniversary. I wish you were here with me to celebrate our very full life we shared. You ARE with me spiritually. You are forever in my heart my true love.

It is not some special occasion but just a day that you are heavily on my mind. There was a new article about the Natural Bridge( remember the jazz fusion band we liked called Natural Bridge? perhaps it was leading us to WV in a way we did not yet know) in Looneyville and it showed the sign you carved directing the trail to it. I was reminded of our time there & the many times we partied with the landowners Janey & Tommy. Janey then showed me a sign she still had that I had forgotten you even made for her. She has it in he living room by Tommy's chair where his hat hangs. Tommy passed on last year and she has a tribute to both of you in her home. It was touching and sad all at the same time. It makes me long for the days when we could visit friends together and how we had so much in common. Nobody is left that knew me the way you did. There was always comfort in knowing that there was one person that really knew & understood who I really am and now you are gone. It just triggered sadness in me. I miss you so very very much.

Happy Birthday Mike! I love you.

  Michael, when you left this world, you forever changed my world. My life will never be the same again. All will be measured in "before" or "after" you passed away.
   Because we shared such a full life together, every day brings multiple memories of you and of us. I miss YOU and I miss US with all my heart.
Forever in my heart Michael.

Mike,
Time stopped mattering when you passed.
You are just as near and dear to my heart now as ever. Yesterday, today, or tomorrow --or years from this day,
Nothing in this earthly realm can diminish the
bright light of the love we share. Love is eternal!
Our spirits are forever wrapped in the lasting glow
of this Love.

Carol

I miss you so MUCH Michael! We always spent so time talking with each other and I miss being able to share all my thoughts with you. SO much has happened in the world since you left and I just wish I could talk with you about all sorts of things. I write to you in a journal but in my heart I know you do not read it yet somehow it helps a very tiny bit. You will forever be in my heart & thoughts. I miss you & love you so very very much. We would have been together 41 years this month. I am as always still with YOU!

Thinking of you, with heartfelt love on this your Birthday anniversary dear Mike! Happy Birthday!!!! You're my Big brother always. 

My darling Michael, I cannot express how very much I miss you. Although I am always with family and often a lot of family, I feel so lonely without you at my side. I often even hold my hands together in our "special" handhold trying to imagine you holding my hand. A couple months into the second year since you left this earth, I feel more alone than the first year you were gone. Was I in a constant fog? Was I in denial? I don't really know the answers but it seems the grief is every bit as strong as the first weeks & months were. I stay in constant contact with God for guidance as I feel pretty lost. When ever I get the chance to go back to our property, I am reminded of how difficult it would be to live there alone. So, I feel like I not only lost you but all that was part of our life together except the memories. For now I still have our pets ( Echo,Dub & Buddy) and I think I cling to them more than is healthy as they are all that is left of our life that we all shared together. I hope you somehow know how MUCH I miss you and love you. You are always and forever in my heart.

Michael, as the second Christmas season without you comes to an end, I feel more lost than ever. I miss you so much my best friend, companion and love of my life. I pray daily for direction as to how to move forward in life without you.

With the one year anniversary since Michael's passing I am adding an excerpt from a book my nephew Jeremy Vickery is putting together. It says so much to me.
"On November 9th, 2020, the hills of West Virginia were more silent than usual. The chirp of birds parted, to make way for the labored cry of a widow, so there was nothing to slow down the sound from reaching the ears of God.
   A great man, a complex man - Mike Vickery - had drawn his final breath, and his spirit left his body. I would have said "it left this world" or "ascended to heaven" ... but in the time I have spent reflecting on the event, the more I realize that Uncle Mike's spirit has not left this world. While he may have a presence in the afterlife, I firmly believe he is now among the scarce collection of those that can be in multiple places at-once."
  My Michael is in my heart and thoughts every day. Rest in peace my sweetheart.

Mike,
You're my Big Brother. I love you.
-- From your Little Sister

Mike was a true Renaissance Man. There was nothing he couldn't do if he wanted to. Once he decided he wanted to do something, he did it with perfection and seemingly effortlessly. In fact he may have been one of the last Renaissance Men left - he was certainly among an elite group and I have not known any before or since meeting Mike. 

You are in my thoughts and in my heart every day. You will never be forgotten.

Missing my big brother....not a day goes by that his memory doesn’t pop up in my mind. We had many differences between us, but bottom line was that we both chose our path in life. I am far better person inside than would be had we not been brothers, friends and confidants. I’ll never forget you brother.

Do Not Go Where The Path May Lead, Go Instead Where There Is No Path And Leave A Trail ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson
   This is how Mike lived his life.

So many wonderful memories I can't possibly list them all! One of my favorites that immediately come to mind are his visits to see us in KC, including the time he came out to help us pack up and move home to MD. Mike drove the moving truck with Jeremy by his side, and all was great until we reached that dastardly town Wheeling, WV! We pulled in to the Best Western off the interstate, but the turn came up suddenly and had a small, very tight entrance so Mike went around the corner thinking there would be another entrance on the other side, one big enough for a truck to fit into. Wrong! The road was a small side street that led to a small bridge that didn't have the weight allowance to hold the truck. Mike wasn't going to risk crossing the bridge and have the truck with him, all of our stuff and his nephew inside, to plummet into the river below so he had to think fast. There was no easy way to turn around because it was a narrow street with cars coming the other direction that were backed up along the road and across the bridge. He got out of the truck and managed to get cars to pull ahead and leave a gap so he could do what must have been an 80 point turn to get the truck going back the way it came. Once into the parking lot he parked and got out, just in time to help David sneak our dog Sam into the hotel. We specifically chose Best Western because they allowed pets, at least at the one in Missouri. Not the one in Wheeling! So Mike held one of the larger suitcases along side Sam while David held another and we walked Sam between them, through the lobby, up the elevator and down the hall to our room. Fortunately Sam was a good boy and stayed nice and quiet all night so no one was the wiser. Another time Mike and Teri came out to visit and we all went to Rocky Mountain National Park to see Pike's Peak and the beautiful mountains of Colorado. On the way across Kansas we drove into a strong storm that spawned a tornado (of course! it's Kansas!!) We had to pitch our tent in the strong winds of that storm that night, in the dark, but we did it! So many fun adventures with Mike by our side! We love him and will truly miss him forever!!

Lovely website Teri! Well done and well written story of how you and Mike spent your first date. Precious memories! Love, Carol

the Moody Blues, one of our favorite groups, say it perfectly with:
"Like the sunrise over the mountainside
Like the bird that has to be free
There's a part of you that will always be
Part of me"
from Bless the Wings