I had the privilege of serving with Michael in South Carolina. He was one my most enjoyable companions to serve side by side with. Has it has been mentioned he always had smile on.

I had the privilege to work with Mike at RMC Property Services over the past few years. He instantly became a new good friend to all of us at RMC. We enjoyed cleaning yards and spraying yards/ homes together. He was a good worker and although I could tell he was often worn out and tired toward the end of the day, he never complained. However, we both agreed that it was good to see the end of some of those hard work days. Mike loved to talk about his family. He was very proud of all of them. He would occasionally get a special phone call from one of them and that was always the highlight of his day. He loved his family very much. One day while working with him he received a call from his brother informing him that he had a ticket for Mike to go see a professional sporting event. That was quite an exiting day. We talked about it for the rest of the week. Boy was he excited for that experience. Again, he loved his family and he knew they loved him. He had his priorities right. An example and lesson for which I am grateful . Mike I look forward to the day that we will be able to once again visit.

One of the things Mike and I loved to talk about was music. We share a great love for rock 'n' roll. In fact, the last interaction we had came a few weeks ago when Mike asked me if I knew when the new Pearl Jam album was coming out. I told him it was scheduled for release on March 27. He thanked me and signed off with, "Have a rocking day." I plan to take him up on that offer (and so do my neighbors) for as many days as I continue to walk this earth.

One of my favorite Michael stories involves a concert a couple decades ago at Park West in Park City. I believe it was the Scorpions (but it could have been Van Halen). Anyway, I had some of the first available seats on the grass hill, and as we were waiting for the show to start, Michael and one of his friends came strolling by as they were just arriving. We talked for a few minutes and then they continued on looking to find a different spot on the hill to watch the show.

Well, after the main set ended, and we were all on our feet yelling and screaming, waiting for the encores to start, who do I see, but Michael and his friend hurriedly rushing past us and heading for the exits. You'd have thought he just got paged by the fire department! I guess they wanted to make sure to beat the traffic. (Granted, getting out of Park West after a concert was a trial of endurance in itself -- but I had to shake my head at how anyone could leave a fantastic concert right before the band would be playing several of its greatest songs. But Mike was determined to get out while the roads were clear and to stay out of traffic. (Or maybe he was late to a hill-climbing event in his old Monte Carlo?)

Come to think of it, Mike died how he lived. Sure, he left earlier than any of us would have wanted him to, but you can bet he saw a clear road ahead. And if you take a look at what's happening in the world today, one could make the case that Mike wanted to get to those Pearly Gates before all the impending traffic the earth is sending that way. No doubt Mike just flashed that backstage pass a life-well lived earned him, and he's enjoying the show from an eternally improved perspective.

Goodbye, Mike! ... Till we rock again!

One of my most vivid memories with Mike occurred while we were on a deer hunt. Mike and I had teamed up at the start of the morning, and we were heading for high ground. I could see in the distance a pretty nasty storm coming our way and coming fast. I turned to signal Mike that it was probably best if we head down to safer ground. See at the time we were at about 9,000 feet up and in the middle of a massive granite field.....and we were both packing metal. Well Mike had decided it was time to move UP the mountain. Frankly, I panicked a bit, because Mike was one fast hiker. It took me awhile to catch up to him, and by the time I did, we were in the middle of a flat out thunderstorm. Lightening was literally popping all around, and we found a tilted slab of granite that we hid under for a couple of hours. We talked about our families, Alpine, school sports, music and just life. When the storm finally passed, we crawled out form under the rock, and made out way down the mountain. It was time well spent! Miss you Mike 

I didn't know Mike the best, but whenever we would get together for family gatherings he was always so kind and always smiling and happy. I loved keeping up with his posts on Facebook to tell us to have a great night along side a picture of Godzilla. I'll miss seeing his smiling face at gatherings, and I strive to be more kind like him.

I have so many memories of trips from California to Alpine, Utah. I loved visiting family. Time with cousins was the best part of the trip. Michael was always willing to help come up with an idea for all of us to do.We put on shows, played at Alpine park, rode bikes, jumped on the trampoline, played hide and seek by the big pine tree and several times would sneak treats out of the pantry for our hideout. He was willing to play games, go horseback riding, or help get Uncle Theron tools for a car repair project. You helped to create wonderful memories for me.
Thank you cousin, for your fun, laughter, and concern for others.
May we all be more like you.

As I have thought about Michael the past few days, the one thing that stood out the most about him was his unconditional love, his BIG heart and his infectious smile!!! Michael, we love you and look forward to the day when we will be be together again. Love you CUZ!!!

Mike will forever be part of the fabric of Alpine, he will be missed. Prayers to McGhie Family

Mike loved and honored people. I considered him to be a cherished friend. Whenever I did projects for the church and he was custodian, I would call him day or night and ask him to do something and without fail he dropped everything and came right then and with an attitude that it was just a joy to serve and do. In this way he was such an example to me, who would have whined about it. He actually made chores happy, though. I have been praying for Mike. I am glad his fight and pain are over. I love him.

"Now there's so much that time and memory fade away,
we got our own roads to ride and chances we gotta take...
But we stood side by side, each one fightin' for the other,
and we said until we died we'd always be blood brothers."
-Bruce Springsteen  

I'll try to honor your life by being kinder to others, like you were. Love you Michael.  Your little brother always, Brent