30 Days of Remembrance: Michael P

Michael was the oldest of 4. He was a good big brother, an amazing grandson, big hearted nephew and an awesome friend to all his friends. Michael had two sisters and a brother (and his best friend who he called his other brother) and two daughters who are now 20 and 11 years old. He came from a big family, so he had lots of cousins.

Michael had several different hobbies. He was a mechanic and an auto body worker. Michael loved to race, BMX bikes and ride skateboards. He was also into racing remote control cars and DJing. At a young age, Michael learned how to take apart his bicycle and put it back together. He would call bike shops to get parts for his bike, and he would shock the worker on the phone when he would tell them that he was only eight years old. Michael knew how to work on cars and do welding but the time he became a young teenager.

Michael mastered everything he put his mind to he was supposed to go to France to professionally race, BMX bikes with two professional riders from southern California. Michael took care of his family the best he could working on our cars doing repairs on his grandmother's house.

Michael had a heart of gold. He made friends with everybody everywhere he went. He made friends. I remember walking around the mall with him shopping and he would just talk to everybody and anybody that would listen and they couldn’t believe how amazing he sounded so intelligent.

Michael wasn’t just my nephew. He was my best friend; we did so much together. I remember going out to California to help him find a place to live in southern California so he could move from Sacramento down closer to his aunt uncle and cousins and when he moved back to Buffalo, and he got into DJing, I got to experience all that with him also.

I think Michael would want everybody to know how much he loved his family and friends. He would want anyone who is struggling with addiction to please get help. If you are struggling with addiction, please ask for help. Your loved ones need you to fight for a better life recovery as possible.

~Jacqueline, Michael's aunt

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"God I could say so much about my brother, he was the most talented person I’ve ever known. Anything Michael set his mind to he achieved and even if it took a couple of tries, he never gave up. From biking to RC cars to mechanics, DJing and even other people's hobbies, he wanted to be a part of and learn, it seemed like he needed to have a part of everything.

Michael was also a caring person, the type to give you his shirt off his back to make sure your warm. He spent his days fixing his families' cars, taking care of his grandma and fixing up broken bikes he would find for the neighborhood kids because in his mind if they had a hobby and a passion maybe they wouldn’t end up like he did. Michael loved his family, his nieces and nephews and his daughters were his pride and joy, he loved doing things like taking out the power wheels battery and replacing it with a better one so it went a little faster, he would do anything to make those kids smile. Me and my brother were car show kids, we loved Lancaster Speedway, the fast cars and loud music spoke to him. Being in a fast car seemed to help quiet his thoughts

If you could learn anything from my brother, learn to encourage your loved ones to get help, listen when they say their head is just too loud and remember we do and can recover."

~Lexie, Michael's sister

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"Michael was a person with many hobbies and interests. He must have had his hands in everything twice. Just to list a few: BMX, paintball, dirt bikes, radio-controlled cars, automobiles, music, skateboarding, welding, snowboarding. I could go on and on.

 The thing about Michael and all his various hobbies is that he had so much passion for all of them. He would research and learn everything he could, then apply and practice. Not that he really needed to, it just seemed like he was good at anything he set his mind to. So much so that some people would get jealous of how these things came so naturally to him. He had true raw talent.

Michael enjoyed these hobbies, but it wasn’t enough. The joy he got from these activities, he would share with any and everyone. He always wanted his friends and family to get involved because of the happiness it brought him, so he thought you had to try it too.

 Michael would do anything to take his friends with him. You didn’t have a bike? He would find parts and build you one. If you didn’t have a snowboard or boots? Craigslist deals it is. Radio-controlled cars? I swear he built a car for every brother, sister, niece, and nephew. That’s just who Michael was. A man of many talents and a heart big enough to share them with anyone in an arm’s reach."

~Mike, Michael's Best Friend