Dr. William S. Michael of Los Gatos, California, age 82, passed away peacefully in the early hours of June 2, 2015.
“Mike” or “Doc” or “Bill” grew up the youngest of three sons in Jackson, Ohio. He attended Kentucky Military Institute in order to play high school basketball and won one of the first-ever basketball scholarships to Davidson College, before transferring to Ohio Wesleyan University.
His years at Ohio Wesleyan were important ones, marked by the formation of lifelong friendships with his Phi Gamma Delta fraternity brothers, meeting and courting his wife-to-be, and leading the Battling Bishops’ basketball team (twice captain and three times MVP). In 1983, he was inducted into OWU’s Athletics Hall of Fame.
After graduating in 1954, he married Florence “Flo” Murphy (1955) and earned his M.D. from the University of Cincinnati (1958). He and Flo moved their young family to California in the early 1960s, where he practiced family medicine in Saratoga and San Jose for more than 40 years. Helping others was always his deepest instinct, and he loved seeing families grow up under his care.
Family and friends remember his tenderness for all creatures, his lovely tenor voice, his beautiful garden, his mischievous sense of humor, his listening ear and ready helping hand. After college, Dr. Michael’s competitive interests turned to handball and golf and bridge, all of which he played regularly for many years. He was also a longtime member of Saratoga Federated Church and the Saratoga Men’s Club.
Dr. Michael is survived by his three daughters, Jennifer L. Michael, Kristen E. Michael and her partner John B. Pope, and Shannon (Michael) Farrell and her husband Edward J. Farrell; numerous nieces and nephews; and his faithful dog, Sparky.
A memorial service is planned for Saturday, June 27, at 2 p.m., at Saratoga Federated Church. A reception will follow the service. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations to the Alzheimer’s Association, would be welcome.
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