Clarence "Mike" Michael Heitzenrater

Clarence Michael “Mike” Heitzenrater, of Mesa AZ passed away, February 3, 2018 at the age of 65. He was born September 5, 1952 in Highland Park, Illinois to Lawrence Earl and Betty Jane [Dombeck] Heitzenrater. Mike was a very honorable and caring man; family meant everything to him. Being the oldest of six, he was always there to look after his brothers and sisters. He had a wonderful sense of humor and was the “Life of the Party”. Mike was also highly educated and worked his entire life as a design engineer, most recently for Axsys Automation until December of 2017. He enjoyed playing video games, working with high end audio, fixing up old classic cars and loved watching movies and listening to music. Mike was very musically talented and could play the piano as well as the accordion; he even won several trophies at the State Fair for his accordion playing. He will be dearly missed by all who knew him. Mike is survived by his loving wife of almost 43 years, Mary Kay Heitzenrater; the two were married February 14, 1975. He is also survived by his daughter, Stacy Lee Heitzenrater and her husband, Kristofer Buske; brothers, Patrick of Pell Lake, WI, Mark of Lake Zurich, IL and Paul of Lake Zurich, IL; sisters, Marlene Bellak of Nippersink, WI and Mary Coble of Lake Zurich, IL. He was preceded in death by his parents, Lawrence and Betty as well as his beloved daughter, Sandra Lynn “Sandy” Heitzenrater. A celebration of his life will be held at 4:00pm, Sunday, February 11, 2018 at Mariposa Gardens Cemetery Chapel, 6747 E. Broadway Rd, Mesa AZ. Arrangements entrusted to Mariposa Gardens Funeral Care (480) 830-4422.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to: the Spondylitis Association of America - https://www.spondylitis.org/Donate or directly to the family.