Truly a loss in my life! I met mike and his family eighteen years ago after driving onto the property inquiring about renting a few stalls in his barn for my two horses and, a pony I had at the time.  The big red barn was enormous! Built in the 1700’s.  I was in awe with the structure and, fascinated with the history.  There hadn’t been horses living there for several years and the stalls and fencing needed some repair. After touring the barn and talking for what seemed like hours  we came to an agreement that I would repair the stalls and the fencing in Lieu of payment for a specified amount of time.  I had such an appreciation for this barn and a genuine liking for mike that I not only wanted to repair it, but restore it.  This is where my friendship began with mike. I spent days and nights working on this project never getting tired of it, always looking forward to the end result and most of all mike’s approval.  Occasionally I would need a particular tool for something and, Yup you guessed it. mike had it. Anything I needed mike was always there. I still have pieces of lumber that  were left over that mike had drilled holes in for the stall bars that he taped together to keep the holes aligned top and bottom. Strange how all the little things become bigger when you lose someone you love. There are no words I can say to express how sad I feel and the heartache I feel for his family! I’ll miss our nightly chats on his before bed walks with his dog Zoey and my night checks on the horses.  sometimes short and quick, sometimes about me and my life and, sometimes about his. Doesn’t matter what the conversation was. Just being there was enough. Because he was a quiet type guy that seemed to know a little bit about everything I was always surprised to hear him talk about his mistakes. They always made me laugh! From bee stings, to falls from ladders, to broken water pipes. There was always Good conversation! Thanks Mike

Wanted to share a few thoughts and observations.

The ceremonies yesterday really showed the fine character of the Leis family.  The shared with us their pain and their love in such a honest and accessible way.  Truly a remarkable family that Michael help to build.

One of my specific memories is that on one of my first visits to the Framingham house I noticed a couple of Michael's patents hung in the bathroom (of all places) on the main floor.  I think that is a perfect example of the both the talent and humility Michael exemplified.  Perhaps it was only a decorating compromise to maintain marital harmony but I choose to believe the former.

Lastly, I am a bit of a kindred spirit to Michael in the fix-it camp.  Not the same breadth and depth but enough to appreciate him.  The tours he gave of the infamous basement were like Charlie and the Chocolate Factory for tinkerers.  Stretched my mind with new possibilities as he did for so many in so many ways.

We are there for you.

Love Dave





I was involved in hiring Mike into DEC and later he worked for me most of his career there.   A really awesome engineer's engineer and he made substantial contributions all around.   A terrific person to work with,  always positive and pleasant no matter the difficulty or pressure on the task.   It's so sad to have a tragic end.

Grant Saviers
ex VP Storage Products, DEC

I worked with Mike for several years, not closely, and I always enjoyed it.  He was a good engineer and a good person, supporting his team and others, including myself when I was going through a rough spot in my career.  Mike had good ideas and recognized them in others.  He looked for and encouraged both ways of looking at things and people that were different.  My condolences to his family.  I know he will be missed.

Michael was the father to my friend Jenny Leis whom she shared a worldly bond and otherworldly connection. ​What a beautiful service filled with the love, humor, and respect that Michael Leis shared with everyone in his life! 
In honor of Michael, I will say hi to all the strangers on my walks this week, and find or learn how to fix something in my house. 
May all your memories of him and those included here wrap the whole family in a golden light of community love.   

Heartbroken for my friend. 
Sending my love to you all <3
Charla

Dear Roberta and Leis Family,

We loved knowing and traveling with Michael and Roberta and were looking forward to more trips in the future. We were horrified to learn of Michael's untimely passing. Though sometimes his wanderings created some concern, he always had a great story to tell where he went and what he learned. We will miss him. The world has lost a unique gift in Michael.

Our deepest condolences.

Fred & Susan Forman

Michael was truly a remarkable human being.  So honestly kind to every person he met and generous with his time.
There isn't any way to say enough about his specialness and unique abilities.

My husband Jim & I were fortunate that his love of travel, along with his lovely wife Roberta brought us to know him.

Michael will be incredibly missed and could never be replaced. 

Mike hired me straight out of college in 1980. He was my manager for 3 years and my colleague and friend for the next 25 or so at Digital/Quantum/Maxtor/Seagate.  I'm so grateful for the education and encouragement Mike gave me. He always had a positive, can-do attitude and his energy was infectious and benefited all his fellow engineers. He taught me a lot about engineering and teamwork. He will be greatly missed.

Hi Roberta,

So sorry to hear about your loss.  I remember when I spent time with you and Michael in Maine.  He was an amazing guy…who could always analyze and figure out any puzzle.  I particularly remember him with his exotic sprinkler system design at Birchrock.
Thinking of you and your family and again sending my deepest sympathies

Rona

Heartfelt condolences to  the entire family at the loss of such a fine human being.
It was a wonderful experience to travel through Spain with Michael and Roberta in 2018.  Michael was insightful, thoughtful, helpful, kind and an excellent listener. He was the type of person who made you feel as  if we had been friends for years.

A Tribute to My Cousin, Michael Leis
 
Michael and I were first cousins, born three months apart in Brooklyn, NY.  Our Mothers were very different sisters who often did not see eye to eye.
 
Over the years as Michael and I reached adulthood, we both were fortunate to cross paths as we were both educated in Cambridge, Mass.
 
As our wonderful families grew we became closer despite the distance between New York and Framingham
We have both been blessed with wonderful wives and children. Roberta and Diane made our time together two summers ago in Wyoming and South Dakota full of memories as we traveled   on our road trip.  As you might expect,  Michael repaired all that needed attention in our house.
 
I hope to pass on to my children more of the story of this truly unique relative of ours who enriched our families, our nation, and the world.
 
Jeff Stein

l Ioved working with Michael at Birchrock a 5 star camp in Maine! The 5 star was for the love I received by all, it felt like family.
He was Mr. Fix it with the check off list, if it wasn't done or broken he'd be thinking of ways to improve it including the list.
This spring with the trailer loader with supplies we hit the road but before leaving town he stopped to give a person collecting cans from the recycling bins a twenty dollar bill. 
I admired the way he loved his wife, family and all people. 
He was a mentsh.


We were blessed to share our grandchildren with Michael and Roberta. We enjoyed having them stay with us whenever they came to visit in Dobbs Ferry. We are profoundly sad to hear the news of this tragedy and know that only time will ease the pain. We loved you Michael! 
Love,
Randi and Len

Michael was a gem.  While others called him Mike he was always Michael to me. Peter and I had the good fortune to spend much time together at our jointly owned home in Maine his beloved Birchrock and on other adventures near and far.   His multiple lists kept things running smoothly even when there were bumps in the road.  I will miss the little surprises from Ocean State and other discount places that inevitably appeared on our pantry shelves in Maine.  I will miss our joint discussions about purchases on trips whether it was a simple mug from Iceland or knives from Japan, but  I smiled every time I saw them.
I will miss his insightful and sometimes quirky takes on a character or theme in a book during our book club discussions.  
 Michael and Roberta were always  up for a new adventure.  I smiled every time I opened Facebook as that was the only way I could keep up with their current location.  
Most of all I will miss Michael's expressions of joy and pride in the accomplishments of his children and grandchildren and the love of his life Roberta.
May his memory be a blessing.


Mike was my manager during the Digital, Quantum, and Maxtor years. He was part mentor, part friend, and part father-figure. His warm, curious, and fun personality attracted engineers all around him. Extremely sharp, insightful, and brutally honest,  I cherished his views on both technical and life matters. 
I will treasure many fond memories of Mike over the last 25 years or so. 
My condolences to the Leis family

When you own a home with another couple, as Eileen and I have with Michael and Roberta for 22 years and you spend many, many weeks and weekends together, you see each other inside and out.  Things are revealed that most others do not see. Michael's kindness to others, both to those he knew well and those who were more casual friends, is legendary and all of it is true.  And, his devotion to his family was unsurpassed. 

 I saw two other things: Michael was a man of integrity and an extraordinarily inventive man.  By integrity I mean he was honest, reliable, and someone who finished what he set out to do, especially when it was to benefit someone else. I could write pages about suggestions he made for improvements at Birchrock, the home we owned together in Maine.  More often than not, after he shared his idea  with us, on our next visit to Birchrock Michael had made the improvement all by himself.

Michael also was one of the most creative thinkers I ever met.  He was an active participant in Roberta's book club which Eileen and I joined  about 30 years ago, and well versed in politics and world  affairs.  But he shined in finding solutions to practical problems from the mundane (a light that goes on when a closet door in opened) to the exotic .  One example will suffice.  The boat we purchased together at the New England Boat show 22 years ago and kept in the boathouse at Birchrock, never left the boathouse.  It spent every winter above the water, hoisted up by a wench and held securely in place by a series of specially fabricated straps and ropes that only  a creative engineer like Michael could have designed and installed. And when it came time to service the boat before putting it to sleep for the winter, Michael did not need the owner's manual at his side because he had obtained the manufacturer's telephone-size repair manual and committed it to memory.

Michael was the heart and soul of Birchrock.  His memory will always be there and in our hearts.  



i got the news from Jenny about Mike.
What can I say ?
Mike was one of my favorite friend. He was a  kind , intelligent , caring  ,playful "NEW FRIEND" in this New Home called America  and some kind of a mentor too.
I spent many moments talking and  doing little projects with him . His patience in teaching /doing things the America's way  is something i will cherish for ever.
He was also my unofficial computer guy .
Every December he would roast some cinnamon walnuts and give us as gifts ( last December he drove to my home and respecting the COVID_19 protocols handed me  a box of his roasted walnuts)    and we saved for  our Christmas Night  Celebration.
Mike will be deeply missed ,but never forgotten.
BE AT PEACE MY FRIEND.

Mike hired me and was my first manager after I graduated from school. As a newcomer to Massachusetts and Shrewsbury, I asked his advice where to go shopping. He suggested Building-19,  ‘where you can get a dozen pairs of socks for a few bucks’, he said.  He was a caring boss and a great mentor. He taught me the first lesson about hard disk drives. 

I am deeply saddened by this news. So sorry for your loss.

I was stunned when I received the phone call from Shoshana on Saturday, and still can't believe it.  Michael was one of my oldest friends.  We had so many things in common, which is what fostered the friendship.  I knew of him as a neighbor around the corner (in Brooklyn) when I was in grade school, but it was in our freshman year in college that we became good friends.  That was in 1957, and we had remained close ever since.  That's in spite of a geographical separation, Mike moving to the Boston area and I to San Francisco.

We shared a love for electronics.  I recall spending many an afternoon at Mike's home on Amboy Street as we designed and built our various gadgets.  In particular, I recall Mike giving me the circuit for building a so-called "foo counter" that was the rave at MIT in those days (I didn't go to MIT).  I build several of them, and I still have one of my original "foo counters" somewhere in my garage.  We also had a common interest in collecting illicit telephones.  I still have my collection, and it is on display in my home.  Several years ago when Mike came to visit us in San Francisco, he brought one of his phones as a gift.  It was a phone from his father's office, so it obviously had special meaning to him, but he wanted to add it to my collection.

Mike taught me the resistor color code back in the early days.  And in later years, every time he would introduce me to someone and mention my accomplishments, he would always add that his teaching me the color code played a part in that accomplishment.

Mike and I spent our dating years together and we both knew each others early girlfriends.  I was delighted when he introduced me to Roberta and I realized that she was going to become his bride.  We were both the unofficial photographer at each others weddings.

Mike, I'll miss you and remember you always.

I loved this man. His kindness. His knowledge. His love of life and travel. His dahlias. His jams and jellies. His many curiosities and stories of discovery. A life well lived. He will be sorely missed on the lake and in my life. 

AVIS DE DÉCÈS

Michael D. Leis

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