TRAVERSE CITY —
Micheal Hall Anderson, 74, of Traverse City, passed away unexpectedly on Thursday, July 14, 2011.
Mike was born July 26, 1936, in Springfield, Mo., to the late Raymond and Lucille (Robertson) Anderson. He married Helen Jeanette Staples on Aug. 31, 1959.
Mike was often described as an artist, not just for his drawings or projects but for the quality of work that he did. He loved to create things, whether it be a story, a poem, a new toolbox for his tools or a new floor for a customer. His work was his hobby, his tools as much collectibles to him as fine art.
Mike was an avid hunter and fisherman, having done both since he was a boy in rural Missouri. He hunted with bow, rifle and pistol. He could skin and cut any game, from a rabbit to a deer. He'd fish any stream, crick or even a pond if he thought it had fish in it. He tied his own spawn bags, his own flies, and made and repaired his own fishing poles. He was a consummate sportsman.
Anyone who knew Mike knew he loved to tell stories, and he had stories to tell from his boyhood to his work experiences, and especially in his capacity of addiction counseling. Mike chaired AA and AC meetings for 25 years at the Grand Traverse County Jail as well as a number of local churches. Mike cared about people and they cared about him.
He loved his family as they loved him, and the world will never be the same for his loss for so many people.
Surviving Mike are his wife, Helen; children, Kelline Renucci and Michael Anderson; grandchild, Ryan Hoxsie; brothers, Bill Anderson and Jack Gordon Anderson; sister, Carol Sue Brown; and several nieces and nephews.
Funeral services will be held on Tuesday, July 19, 2011, at 1 p.m., with a visitation held one hour prior, at the Reynolds-Jonkhoff Funeral Home. Burial will take place in Grand Traverse Memorial Gardens.
Memorial contributions may be directed to the Goodwill Inn.
Please sign Mike's online guestbook at www.reynolds-jonkhoff.com .
The family is being served by the Reynolds-Jonkhoff Funeral Home.