Michael Minerath

Happy Birthday Jim, did you arise today as well? Happy Easter, too

Posted on: Apr 09, 2025 at 4:17 PM

Hi Paul, same as what Jim said - have a great day and enjoy yourself immensely. You deserve it!

Happy Birthday Bill!

Happy upcoming Birthday, Bill. Hope you're well and doing fine.

Posted on: Jan 26, 2025 at 1:11 PM

Have a very Happy Birthday, Michelle. Enjoy your day.

Happy Birthday, Jill. I hope you celebrated another great year. Now starting another.

I reread Mike Hay's last posting on our class website. He sounds strong, alert, alive. I wish it had been so for him. If you read it carefully you can see the cracks--the misspellings, the odd word here and there, some of which I had to think about for a minute to understand. He wasn't showing his sharp, precise self at its best. I wish it had been better. I knew something had been up, and this confirmed it. Mike and I were close friends since he showed up in Junior High, seventh grade I believe. Having been a new kid to Oak Creek for sixth grade, I knew t.he difficulty of being a relative stranger in a new place. I welcomed him, and we soon became fast friends. We fell into a sort of academic lockstep, being pushed forward in math and science, taking Banker's Advanced Physics and Kulinski's Advanced Chemistry together, a few semesters of wood shop with Hoernke in 7th & 8th grade, and others as well. We also swam together, he being the better swimmer than me. Summers were fun as well, with lots of "recreational" activities, some more dangerous than others. Cliff diving at the Racine Quarry, driving to all sorts of places, the best of which was the wild trip to East Troy for his Academy interview. The power and handling of his Dad's(Dick) '69 Grand Prix SJ were demonstrated to the utmost, one helluva ride. We camped at Devil's Lake with his family's pop-up camper towed with my Dad's (Ray) '66 Ford Custom I6 with a 3 on the tree. That trail never had a chance, and the view from Devil's Doorway was an awsome sight. College years were much more quiet, with all of us having jobs and other commitments. I spent the summer grinding welds and testing for leaks in those welds 50 hours/week at $2.10/hour. Mike was only free for a while after his first year, and we made the most of it - our version of working hard and playing hard. Subsequent years I worked at Tews Ready Mix and Building materials, a job his Dad helped me get. His subsequent years in the Academy passed fairly quickly. He visited me in Madison a few times, and again, a good time was had by all. Once he went to full-time active duty flying the big planes, it was harder to get and stay in touch...but we did it. He and April visited my first wife and I in Ann Arbor, and it was like going back in time. He was there because he wanted to assure the best possible education for his son. He was even considering relocating to make it happen. Ultimately he stayed in Mission Viejo and raised his sons with April. He visited me in Ann Arbor in 2005 to be a part of my wedding to the very kind, fun, and smart Joan Schikora Zaleski. I was so very glad he was able to be there. We visited him in California once, coincident with a wedding we were attendin there. He was always busy with his job flying 747s commercially, working on his 1950s Ford pickup, and his beloved Corvette. We kept in touch, less often unfortunately than we should have. I don't know at what point he became ill or learned of his diagnosis. I do know that he fought with his body and his mind, and managed to survive and thrive far longer than the average patient. Kudos to him. His last communication with me was a few years ago. It was a breakup of sorts, him saying he didn't enjoy spending time talking to liberals, a label I accept. I thought about him often, and continued to send cards and emails while he slowly withdrew. His phone number ceased to function. His email addresses no longer worked, one at a time. He moved to Arizona, and seemed happy to be settled there, according to the little that he did share on the website. He was my friend, and he was slipping away. News of his death in October did not surprise me. It seemed that he'd left his last message for us all. Mike was a tremendous friend of mine over nearly sixty years. He lived quite a life, more than a lot of us have. I wish I could have been there for him, even in some small way. Farewell my friend. I'll miss you.

Happy upcoming Big Day, Barb. All the best to you and yours then and over the holidays.

Posted on: Sep 18, 2024 at 3:33 AM

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, Tony. Many more!

Posted on: May 17, 2024 at 3:26 PM

Happy upcoming birthday, Mary! Have a great day. My daughter in Madison is expecting her first child - I finally get to officially be called "Grampa." Take good care of yourself. Mike

Posted on: May 02, 2024 at 7:03 PM

Happy upcoming Birthday, Diane - enjoy your day! Wishing you many more.