Michael Lewis Rahija

Mike was born on January 27, 1955, in Kansas City, Kansas, to Helen and John Rahija. He graduated from Sheffield High School in 1973, where he was named “Most Athletic” and earned scholarship offers in track, field and football. After high school, Mike completed his degree in Electrical Engineering from State Technical Institute of Memphis while also helping his father launch North Communications Consulting & Equipment (NCC&E).

After selling his share of the business in 2005, Mike took a well-deserved break, two full years of nothing but fishing and hunting, before joining FedEx. At the hub, he quickly proved that experience and determination outpace youth, moving faster, loading more boxes, and showing his much younger colleagues exactly “how it’s done.”

A true outdoorsman, Mike loved bass fishing, both recreationally and competitively. He was an active, hands-on father and husband, always coaching sports, leading Scouts, cheering from the stands at softball and baseball games. He enjoyed taking his kids fishing and hunting as well as fixing anything and everything. He was a longtime member of the Chickasaw Bass Club, winning Angler of the Year multiple times. He was also a member of Bland Bayou Hunting Club, where he likely bagged the biggest buck several seasons and definitely harvested the most squirrels every year.

Mike is deeply missed by his wife of 50 years, Laura; his children, Kellie (Michael) and Michael (Lucia); five grandchildren—Trent Morris, Eon Morris, Destini Morris, Maria Rahija, and Leila Rahija—and his sister, Roberta “Bertie” Gatlin. He was preceded in death by his parents and his brothers, John and Bob.

Services will be held at Memphis Funeral Home and Memorial Gardens on N. Germantown Parkway. Visitation will be on Tuesday, August 12th from 5-7pm. A graveside service will be the following day Wednesday, August 13th at 10am.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to Saint Jude Children's Research Hospital.