Mike Worley was a man of many callings, working for U.S. Customs, the Inter-Tribal Council of Michigan, and the Michigan Child Welfare Agency. He found his true calling, though, as the Intervention Specialist at Lincoln Elementary School. It was there he became "Mr. Mike", a crown he enjoyed well into retirement. He loved his school family, and it loved him right back.
"Mike fiercely loved his family and friends, and whether you knew him as Big Mike, Uncle Mike, Mr. Mike or just Mike, you knew you had a friend in him," said a Facebook post. "Even after four years of retirement, he was greeted with “Mr. Mike” from countless former students when he was out and about in Sault Ste. Marie. His school family was so special to him, and oh, the stories he could tell."
Worley, who died unexpectedly at his home Feb. 16, will be remembered in perpetuity with the establishment of the Michael J. Worley Memorial Scholarship held at the Chippewa County Community Foundation. His family asks that a donation be made there in lieu of flowers.
Mike Worley was 69.
The youngest of five children, Worley was born in Sault Ste. Marie, Mich. on Sept. 15, 1953, to James and Roberta Worley. He graduated from Sault High School with the Class of 1971. He played football and basketball for the Blue Devils, participated in men’s slow-pitch softball as a player and umpire, and followed the Lakers hockey team during their championship years.
He married Gwen LeuVoy on July 14, 1973, and they were expecting to celebrate their golden anniversary this year.
Worley enlisted in the U.S. Navy and served three years as a hospital corpsman at Great Lakes Naval Hospital in Illinois. For his fourth year, he was attached to a Marine division in Okinawa, Japan. He and his wife had lifelong friends from his time in the military. Mike used the G.I. Bill to attend Lake Superior State University, graduating in 1983 with a degree in human services. He worked at Lake State and had the honor of supervising the resident staff adviser.
The Worleys raised two children: Carolyn (Joshua) Brady of Milwaukee, WI and Eric (Katey Price) Worley of Albion, Mich.
"The apple of his eye was grandson Sebastian Michael Kai Brady, and he had nine joyful months watching his entertaining antics," added Facebook.
Worley is survived by his wife Gwen, his children and grandson, his sisters Jan Jobes, Linda (Ted) Haapala, and Charlene (Bill) Good; sisters-in-law Gayla (James) Palmer, Sherry (Ken) Demaray, and mother-in-law Dolores LeuVoy, all of Sault Ste. Marie; and brother-in-law Randall (Angel) LeuVoy, of Lancaster, Ohio; as well as several nieces and nephews.
He was preceded in death by his parents, his brother Donald Worley, his father-in-law Donald LeuVoy, and his bother-in-law John Jobes.
A memorial service will be held at 4 p.m. on Feb. 25 at C.S. Mulder Funeral Home. Friends may gather at the funeral home that same day starting at 1 p.m.
