Michael was known for his dry sense of humor and very calm demeanor, which sparked to life when discussing his lifelong passions: planes, trains and ships.

On September 16, 2013, Michael lost his life in the shootings at the Washington Navy Yard.

He was born in 1954 in Tacoma, WA at Fort Lewis Army Base. He grew up in Rochester, MI. He attended the University of Oklahoma ROTC, and was commissioned in the US Navy in 1976. After five years of active duty, stationed in Hawaii, he proudly served in the Naval Reserves until 1994, when he retired as a Commander.

After leaving active duty, and moving to Northern Virginia, Michael went to work for Advanced Technology, Inc. (1983-1989). In 1989, Michael joined the NAVSEA Team and was instrumental in the design and construction of numerous large-deck amphibious assault ships in the Wasp-Class, including USS Makin Island (LHD 8). Most notably, he was the lead architect of the new America-Class ships, the USS America (LHA6), and future USS Tripoli (LHA7). Michael was an innovative and progressive ship design and acquisition professional. He is widely recognized for introducing hybrid electric drive and gas turbine propulsion systems to the amphibious fleet, already saving hundreds of millions of gallons of fuel in just one ship deployment. Every amphibious ship for the next 40 years will leverage his design and will contribute to the most capable and fuel efficient Fleet in the world. Michael's innovation was again relied upon with the introduction of tilt-rotor, and Vertical Short Take-off and Landing aircraft. Michael and his design team created a balanced LHA(R) Flight 1 Ship design supporting the latest V-22 and F-35 Marine Corps aircraft while re-introducing landing craft capabilities to the Large Deck Amphibious Assault ship Fleet.

Michael was an avid pilot. He was taking great joy in his lifelong dream of building his own plane in the basement of his home. His wife, Jolanda, said his goal was to fly the Sonex 2-seater before his 60th birthday. On the weekend before his death, Michael spent most of the weekend working on it - he was so excited and was having the time of his life.

Michael was married to his wife for over 36 years. He was a wonderful husband and a proud father of their two sons, Christopher and Eric.