Charles Michael "Mike" Shoemaker

Mike was born in Sweetwater, Texas, and moved to Phoenix, Arizona, at the age of eight. He attended South Mountain High School, where he was active in sports and leadership organizations and met Janice Cheatham, whom he married in 1964. The couple moved to Dickinson, Texas, in 1969, and Mike began a career with the Amoco oil refinery in Texas City.

After raising two daughters and serving for 31 years with Amoco, Mike retired and moved with Janice to Boerne, Texas, where the couple spent the next 17 years making friends and enjoying hobbies and travel.

The couple returned to the Houston area to be closer to family when Mike’s health began to deteriorate in 2017. They have been surrounded with love from their children, five grandchildren, and great-grandson, as well as many friends and extended family.

Mike is preceded in death by his parents, Clayton and Christine (Grounds) Shoemaker, and his sisters, Patricia Johnson and Glenda Wills. He is survived by his wife of 57 years, Janice; his daughters, Cindy Clayton (Dave) and LeAnne Garcia (Sergio); grandsons, Benjamin and William Seidensticker (Jess); granddaughters, Audrey Clayton, Mariana Garcia, and Iris Clayton; and great-grandson, Case Seidensticker.

The family would like to extend a special thanks to those who helped with Mike's care, most notably Bobbie Rice, who worked with him for more than two years, and Debra Scherwitz.

A celebration of life service for Mike will be held Sunday, March 27, 2022, at 2:00PM, in the Rio Grande Chapel of Katy Funeral Home, 23350 Kingsland Boulevard, Katy, Texas 77494.

Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.katyfh.com for the Shoemaker family. In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation in Mike's name to CurePSP Inc. (www.psp.org).

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Born to Clayton and Christine (Grounds) Shoemaker in Sweetwater, Texas, Mike grew up with the nickname "Sandy," which was used affectionately by many family members throughout his life. He was the delight of his two older sisters, who had not expected to have a baby brother to play with and spoil.

Mike spent his early years in Texas and then moved with his family to Phoenix, Arizona. He attended Sunland School and then South Mountain High School, where he played football, track, and basketball, and was president of Key Club, among other activities. Outside of school, he was a member of DeMolay International, elected as Master Councilor for the Thunderbird Chapter at the age of 15. About that same time, Mike started dating Janice Cheatham, a fellow South Mountain sophomore who first caught his eye at a DeMolay meeting being presided over by her older brother.

Mike and Janice dated throughout high school, and then married in Laveen, Arizona, on August 29, 1964. In 1967, the couple welcomed their first daughter, LeAnne. Mike served in the Arizona and Texas National Guard from 1966-1972, moving his young family from Laveen to Dickinson, Texas, in 1969. With this move, Mike embarked on a career with the Amoco oil refinery in Texas City, where he started out in plant operations.

Refinery work often involved overnight shifts that required Mike—now a father of two, after the arrival of daughter Cindy—to sleep during the daytime in a house with young children. In 1972, the family built a new home in Dickinson on Melody Lane, where they became part of a small but tight-knit group of neighbors. In 1977, they built a larger home right across the street. When not working, Mike honed his gardening skills, growing beds of roses and many other types of plants in containers. He also cultivated an interest in massage and foot reflexology, taking classes at a nearby community college. He was handy with a smoker or a grill, but his cooking skills weren’t limited to burgers and brisket; he was also the chief of turkey operations at family holidays, and would occasionally cook up a large, aromatic pot of chicken and rice that may or may not have had healing properties.

Mike was a proud and encouraging father who attended his daughters’ dance recitals, school plays, and band performances, and in 1991 he stepped into the role of proud grandfather. LeAnne’s son Benjamin was followed in 1993 by brother William, and the boys spent their childhoods being lovingly spoiled by their Papa.

Meanwhile, over the course of 31 years with the Amoco refinery, Mike had moved on from operations to pipe fitting and welding, before stepping into a role as an OCAW safety representative. A union member for his entire tenure at Amoco, he had seen lean times during strikes, and served as a union steward to help ensure that members were treated fairly. As a safety representative, Mike took to heart the importance of preventing worker injuries and plant incidents.

As Mike and Janice approached retirement, they found their “happy place” on a trip to Estes Park, Colorado, where they found a “home away from home” just outside of Rocky Mountain National Park. Over the next 20 years, they traveled to Rams Horn Village dozens of times, often bringing along family and other guests to enjoy the mountain views, hikes, and various adventures. Mike was never happier than when he was in the mountains with Janny by his side.

Mike retired in 2000 and moved with Janice to Boerne, Texas, where they built a custom home and enjoyed more free time to socialize and travel. In their time at River Mountain Ranch, they built lasting friendships and raised just a little hell. Mike was never bored with five acres of hill country acreage to look after, and he tended plants in a greenhouse in addition to encouraging the local wildflowers and protecting his saplings from hungry deer.

During their first ten years in Boerne, Mike and Janice gained three more grandchildren: Cindy’s daughters Audrey and Iris (2005 and 2009, respectively), and LeAnne’s daughter Mariana in 2007. Though they lived at a greater distance from their family than before, they made wonderful memories with visits and holiday gatherings. They also traveled with local friends to destinations as far flung as Hawaii, Hilton Head, Virginia, and the Caribbean.

Though Mike would have been content to visit only mountainous locales, Janice did persuade him to travel to London and Paris, to cruise to Alaska, and to explore parts of Germany and Scandinavia. And in 2014, for their 50th wedding anniversary, a pretty big fuss was made, with family and friends gathering from near and far to celebrate the couple’s life together.

After Mike suffered a mild stroke in late 2016, he and Janice decided to move back to the Houston area, settling in Katy to be closer to their daughters. After receiving the diagnosis of progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP), Mike worked with physical and occupational therapists for as long as he was able, and took his last trip to the Rocky Mountains in 2018. Janice cared for Mike in their home, with help from Home Instead staff and family, until his final day.

Mike cherished his family and friends, and did his best to maintain his positive outlook and sense of humor. Here was a life well lived, and a man well loved.