I met Mike my freshman year when he moved to Houston from Alice, Texas, and showed up one day at SWSH. He seemed a bit lost, so I introduced myself and it turned out that we lived in the same neighborhood. We struck up a friendship and I eventually invited him to join the sailing club I was in. We spent a lot of time sailing and racing on Galveston Bay all through high school, and made two summer trips to the Bahamas with the club. Mike became a good sailor, and a dependable crewman.
That first year of our friendship, we both found ourselves painfully short of pocket money, so we went in halves, bought an extension ladder, and advertised ourselves as second story window washers. We got a ton of orders from the neighbors, but the business faltered when we discovered that the windows were really high up there, and that washing them sucked eggs. The business lasted about 6 windows.
Mike was goodhearted and loyal. He did have one incredibly annoying habit, though: he absolutely loved to talk like Donald Duck and thought it was hysterical. He would get on a roll and it would seem like he quacked about 50% of everything he uttered. He once rode with my Dad and me over to the Beaumont area to watch my brother Mark play in a SWSH football game. After hours in the car, we dropped him off and my Dad turned to me, totally exasperated, and said: 'One more mile or one more minute, I'd have strangled him.' I eventually persuaded Mike that he was not Donald Duck and to give it up. It took 3 years...
Mike and I would see each other only occasionally after graduation. I was busy with college, moved overseas, and over the years our contact was infrequent. Mutual friends updated me on Mike's whereabouts, what he was doing, and that he said 'Hi'. I got a call one day from a Memorial High buddy of ours who told me that Mike had suffered a massive heart attack at work and had died. I believe he was about 35 yrs old when he passed.
Wow. Mike Leary was one of the funniest guys I knew in high school, he just cracked me up...he had a million faces and was a sweet guy; sorry to hear he has left us so soon...there will be fewer laughs on earth now, for sure.
Edward Williams
I met Mike my freshman year when he moved to Houston from Alice, Texas, and showed up one day at SWSH. He seemed a bit lost, so I introduced myself and it turned out that we lived in the same neighborhood. We struck up a friendship and I eventually invited him to join the sailing club I was in. We spent a lot of time sailing and racing on Galveston Bay all through high school, and made two summer trips to the Bahamas with the club. Mike became a good sailor, and a dependable crewman.
That first year of our friendship, we both found ourselves painfully short of pocket money, so we went in halves, bought an extension ladder, and advertised ourselves as second story window washers. We got a ton of orders from the neighbors, but the business faltered when we discovered that the windows were really high up there, and that washing them sucked eggs. The business lasted about 6 windows.
Mike was goodhearted and loyal. He did have one incredibly annoying habit, though: he absolutely loved to talk like Donald Duck and thought it was hysterical. He would get on a roll and it would seem like he quacked about 50% of everything he uttered. He once rode with my Dad and me over to the Beaumont area to watch my brother Mark play in a SWSH football game. After hours in the car, we dropped him off and my Dad turned to me, totally exasperated, and said: 'One more mile or one more minute, I'd have strangled him.' I eventually persuaded Mike that he was not Donald Duck and to give it up. It took 3 years...
Mike and I would see each other only occasionally after graduation. I was busy with college, moved overseas, and over the years our contact was infrequent. Mutual friends updated me on Mike's whereabouts, what he was doing, and that he said 'Hi'. I got a call one day from a Memorial High buddy of ours who told me that Mike had suffered a massive heart attack at work and had died. I believe he was about 35 yrs old when he passed.
Fair weather and following winds, Mike.
Cheryl Ann Weatherly (Binnie)
Wow. Mike Leary was one of the funniest guys I knew in high school, he just cracked me up...he had a million faces and was a sweet guy; sorry to hear he has left us so soon...there will be fewer laughs on earth now, for sure.Cheryl Weatherly Binnie