I am Mike's brother-in-law. Ironically, Michael's sister, Denise, died on December 21, 2021. We're not sure of Mike's date of death, only that we know it was after December 17 and before January 4, 2022. So the brother and sister died within days of each other. January 7, 2022, the date of the funeral, would have been Mike's 74th birthday. Mike and his sister weren't close friends and have been separated by distance since we moved away from Chicago in 1976, but they did speak to each other every couple of months and on holidays and birthdays.
We're grateful to his co-worker and friend Toni who found out why Michael wasn't at work and was clever and persistent enough to track down family members and another friend.
We're grateful to his lifelong friend Ron for being Mike's friend and for helping arrange the funeral.
And we're grateful to Rabbi Tzali for making the arrangements and conducting the funeral in 14 degree weather and even managing to gather a minyan.
Bernard Mayoff
January 7, 2022
