
Celebration of Life
April 20, 1952 · January 13, 2026
A Celebration of Life, with a good old-fashioned Irish Wake, is Saturday, October 17, 2026, 4 PM to 8 PM at Flanagan's on Main in Park City (21+). Family and friends are invited to celebrate a life lived in the air, in the mountains, and in the water — a teacher, pioneer, and storyteller who left with a wink.
1952 – 2026
Michael departed this world on January 13, 2026, on his final journey over the rainbow bridge. Cancer had taken his voice and his breath. He left with a small smile and a sly wink — unafraid, and no longer in pain.
He was a Denver kid who learned to fly: first off a backyard rink and a diving board, then off gelande jumps and into the new sport of freestyle skiing. Later he taught hundreds of people to get upside down safely, and hundreds more to breathe underwater.
Come tell a story. Come sit with the people who loved him. Come celebrate a man who spent his life encouraging others to stretch their limits.

This gathering
Join the celebration from home when the stream begins.
Tell the family you are coming, or send love if you cannot.
Saturday, October 17, 4–8 PM at Flanagan's on Main. Order of events and speakers.
Aerials, film, Crested Butte, Park City, and the sea.
A story from the hill, the shop, the boat, or the table.