The loss of a brother

I had the honor of knowing Mike and was a housemate of his several years ago. When I heard the news, I could hardly believe it. While I never played lacrosse, Mike was still a coach to me in life. I am a volunteer firefighter, and Mike was on my department. Mike approached firefighting the same way he approached Lacrosse and his life. He believed nothing is worth doing unless you could do it well. Mike was an excellent firefighter and always gave 150%.

Mike is a brother firefighter still and always will be. I am honored to call him a friend and a coach as well. The memories haven't stopped since heard the news.

Mike had an office in our house. I can remember having the day off and would see Mike in his office. He was always in a clean and pressed dress shirt, tie, and dress pants. I always wondered why he would dress this way when he would literally walk down the hall from his bedroom and into his office. His work was always over the computer or phone at home and often, he would finish his day, walk back into his room and change into more casual clothes. I asked him about it. He told me that even though no one could see him over the phone, he wanted to make sure that he was as professional as he could be whenever he talked to his clients. He said the clothing helped remind him to do so. I often wondered how many of his clients knew how far Mike would go to take care of them.

My fondest memory of Mike was his four alarm clocks that would go off in the morning. Every one of the alarm clocks was of the "extra loud" variety, and would all go off within seconds of each other. My room was on another floor and on the opposite side of the house and they would wake me up! If you went to Mikes room, he would still be in bed, sound asleep. Shaking him or rolling him out of bed would do nothing. I finally found out that if the phone rang, Mike would instantly wake up and answer the phone before the first ring would stop. There were many mornings that phone calls were made from one room of the house to the other!

I also remember Mike as the 'Consummate Catholic'. He was instrumental in getting several of us on the FD, to go back to church regularly. Mike was always there when you needed him, even after he moved away.

It is not surprising to see how many people Mike has influenced over the years. Just being around him made everyone want to be better....Better in sports, better in life, better in everything, just like Mike.

Mike, if you are reading this, just know you have touched my life and made me a better person. I will never forget you.

Kurt Ploch