Diana Mann
I was Mike’s first cousin, Diana. We were born six months apart, so we went all through grade school and high school together. I also went to the University of Illinois, and ran into him a couple of times after he transferred there in his second year.
My memories of Mike are very different than other peoples’. When we were little, I found him to be a quiet and soft spoken child. We got along well. we were not in any of the same classes in grade school, but in high school, I would see him in the hallways and he would always smile and say hi to me.
People were always surprised to know that we were first cousins, because we didn’t look much alike. The funny thing was that his father and my mother, brother and sister, looked extremely alike.
He was always the same to me as he was when he was little, gentle and kind. Others talk about how he was so verbal and outgoing, but that was not the kid I knew, who was soft spoken, kind and polite from my youngest memories until we were adults.
I hope you are in a place of peace, rest, and healing, Mike.
