Michael came into this world on Tuesday, September 2, 1975 .... the day after the Labor Day holiday. The reason this information is critical to his story is as follows. When his mom called his dad at work that morning to tell him it was "time" and he needed to come home to take her to the hospital, he said "hold on, I need to find out if I'll get paid for the holiday if I leave early". He quickly snapped out of it and said he was on his way. They would later laugh at the retelling of the story. As for that darn Labor Day holiday, his birthday would often times land on Labor Day. He once asked his mom why she had him on a holiday and she told him that he decided that, to which his eyes sparkled and he thought that was pretty cool. He was born at Bethany Medical Center in Kansas, City, Kansas .... the same hospital as his mother and brother.
Michael was raised by his mom along with his brother, Billy, in Overland Park, Kansas and Roeland Park, Kansas. Mom once joked that the three of them grew up together as she became a single mom at a young age. When she decided to buy a forever home for them, which is the Roeland Park home, she got the boys excused from school and her realtor, Cindy D, made arrangements for them to see the home and give it their seal of approval before she purchased it .... that's how much of a team they were.
Always at the ready with a good joke, he grew up to be quite a humorous person. Michael had the ability to find amusement with almost any activity he and the many childhood friends he shared might discover. While some who knew Michael might describe him as an idealist, his friends and family understood well that Michael was always in pursuit of life’s endless possibilities and opportunities available to him.
As a young boy, Michael was able to empathize and identify with a vast array of people and personality types. This quality drew him into a diverse group of friends and acquaintances. Michael was intelligent and had little trouble getting along with his peers. He was almost always the first to jump in when it came to playing games or participating in other childhood activities. Michael played football from sixth grade on, he LOVED football. He was in Y-Indian Guides, was a Cub Scout, a Webelos Scout and Boy Scout earning several merit badges. Some other memorable achievements included Pinewood Derby wins and trophies, 2nd place winner Middle School Writers Slate Journal of Writing Conference, 8th grade, Antioch Middle School, ribbons for his artwork and his football trophies. When he was young he loved to take things apart to see how they worked and then (sometimes) put them back together, he also built model cars and loved to draw even as a young child.
During his high school years, Michael responded enthusiastically to any new project and was regularly in search of one adventure after another. He graduated from Shawnee Mission North High School in 1994. Michael was a good student, and generally did well in his courses. He absorbed as much as he could from his teachers and was able to tackle conceptual and abstract problems, using his imagination to master his assignments. For Michael, school often became just an extension of playtime, thanks to his ability to turn just about anything into a game. His teachers didn't always appreciate this. Classmates considered Michael a good listener, knowing they could come to him to discuss just about anything. His favorite class in high school was art. Michael also loved football and loved playing for the SMN Indians football team from 9th grade through his senior year.
With a talent for making acquaintances easily which in turn brought him an endless stream of friends, Michael was very sociable and could blend without effort into any social group. Assertive and outgoing, Michael was easy to know and demonstrated a deep concern for others. He always seemed aware of what was going on with people around him and throughout his life he made many, many friends. While growing up some of his best friends were Brian Cregan, Andy Paul and, of course, his brother, Billy, "sister" Angie.
He also formed a lifelong bond with former neighbors Jamie and Jessica Wade. Later in life came "sis" Amy aka Ames, friends Tracey and Troy, Val, Dusty and Kayla, Nivens, Brad aka Heavy D and so many others. Val was a true godsend to his mom at the time of his passing.
Michael was blessed with one daughter, the light of his life, Camilla Rose Price. He loved receiving pictures and videos of her from her mom and loved sharing them with his mom .... and grandma loved sharing in his delight as he showed them to her. He was so happy with the shared pictures of Camilla opening her birthday gifts from him this past July, her 12th birthday. Some of his most cherished memories were of the Father/Daughter dances they attended together and feeding the ducks at Antioch Park. He had fond memories of playing at Antioch Park as a child with his mom, brother, aunt and cousins and was so happy to make memories there with Camilla.
Michael was uplifted by new ideas and was excited by life’s possibilities, traits that made him an exceptional worker. His primary occupation was a tile setter, a master craftsman who took great pride in his work. He was employed by various tile companies before starting his own company, Priceless Tile Creations. He later transitioned to the job of maintenance technician while still doing tile on the side. Michael was inventive and creative and had the ability to find a solution to just about any problem.
Because Michael loved to have a broad variety of activities in his life, he took advantage of the opportunity to pursue numerous hobbies. His favorite pursuits were drawing, he never lost his love of drawing and was extremely talented even designing tattoos for himself and others. Michael had a knack for being able to multi-task in order to create time for all of his favorite pastimes, however, his ever-present concern for others always took precedent.
Michael derived much satisfaction from participating in and watching sports. He was a huge sports fan. Tops on his list were the Kansas City Chiefs .... he loved his Chiefs. He also enjoyed watching KU basketball and Royals games. His mom loves her Royals as much as he loved the Chiefs and he was developing a love of baseball from watching games with her. In addition to playing football in school he enjoyed darts, Cornhole, lawn darts, and chess just to name a few. He often said that golf was not a sport so he was never interested in learning how to play.
Michael's love of improvising in his daily life was a perfect fit for his enjoyment of traveling. His favorite vacations were ones that were not planned. Traveling in a casual manor fit his personality well. Excited about seeing changing scenery and constantly looking for the enjoyment life could offer, Michael took his vacations seriously, well, as seriously as he possibly could. Favorite vacations included float trips with friends and his beloved dog, Deacon. He had great stories of float trips, New Year's Eve parties, Chiefs games and tailgating before and countless fun outings with friends.
Michael loved animals and loved his pets which included Deacon, a French Mastiff, Dogue de Bordeaux. Other beloved pets were Muffin, a mixed breed sweetie; Nemo, a Rottweiler mix; Winston, a Bulldog and his cat CeeCee/CC which stands for Camilla's Cat. His brother happily took in CC, adding her to his family of pets.
Michael passed away peacefully in his sleep on August 5, 2019. He is survived by the light of his life, daughter, Camilla Rose; his parents Lynn and Scott; his brother, Billy; his father, Bill and wife Nichole as well as numerous family members and friends. Services were held at Chapel Hill - Butler Funeral Home.
There was always a certain style and inventiveness to Michael. He was a dynamic, self-expressive person who was forever looking to celebrate the endless possibilities life had to offer. He had a knack for being clever, creative and witty, and for others, was a joy to be around. While he is no longer physically present with us, his legacy lives on through those who knew and loved him. He touched many lives in his short time here and is called dad, brother, son and friend by many. Nothing brought him more joy than his baby girl, Camilla Rose, hanging out with his momma and watching the Kansas City Chiefs. He received season tickets for his 14th birthday in 1989, attending with his dad in the early years when he wasn't old enough to drive and later with friends. He attended his final game with his brother, Billy. It was the AFC Championship Game against the Patriots on January 20th, 2019 at Arrowhead Stadium. Billy shared how glad he was to have this cherished memory.
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His mother Lynn has these final words for her son: “Sweet dreams my beautiful chocolate eyed baby boy, mom loves you!”
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