I met Michael in Orange County, CA back in 2007 when he was out there on business. I had come to know him through travel clubs and we visited Haiti together a couple years later, due to our similar passion for traveling. He was one of the smartest people I ever met and had an encyclopedic knowledge of the world. He always was there to give tips and advice. I will forever miss him and I’m saddened he never got to complete his final 7 countries, but what a life he lived. I’ll always think fondly of him. 

We met a couple of years ago through the wonders of facebook. Our travel adventures are included in the same book, but we only met in person in january. Our picture ejoying drinks and good sushi in Bogota remains his last entry. He said he would be back soon.  It was a brief encounter, but we bonded well, played jewish geography, and looked forward to a next meeting.  Life can be brief.   Dear Michael, you will be missed.

Mike was my mentor when I was a young lawyer at Baker & McKenzie. I could say a lot of things about Mike but the truest thing I can say is that I’m a better lawyer and better person for having known him. He was just that terrific. 


When I went to law school at Chicago, I expected to meet lots of really smart people who were humorless grinds. What I did not expect to meet is Mike Novins.  Mike was the funniest person I have ever known.  He could deflate pomposity with a devastating one-liner. He was brilliant and witty, but never mean. In fact, he was the sweetest of persons.  Mike loved John Waters films, Joe Franklin, early Howard Stern and any obscure fact - the more obscure the better.  When Devine died, Mike changed the message on his answering machine to say, "Due to the death of Devine, we will not be accepting calls." I still chuckle at the thought of New York law firms calling to offer Mike a job and getting that message.  He was a good friend who made every encounter richer, funnier and more irreverent than we had any right to expect.  We will miss him very much.

Mike was my best friend in college.  So many memories just came flooding back.   He was seriously one of a kind.    I'm a better person to have known him.

Michael was my first college roommate at SUNY Binghamton in 1982.  He and I even share the same birthday. Although we had not been in touch in a number of years, he was a good friend and he will be missed. May he be a blessed memory to all his loved ones. 

So soon?... So soon!!...  Wow.  The prompt on this memory page asks for "a favorite memory"--but the fact is that Mike had a major part in the lion's share of my happy times and adventures during my law school years in Chicago.  Though our moments together were ever fewer and farther between over the decades since,  Mike will always rank among my most cherished friends.   And I know for an absolute FACT that many, many others feel precisely the same way!......  

Mike cannot and will not be forgotten!

I went to SUNY-B (not Binghamton University) with Mike for three years. He had a sharp sense of humor and it was always enjoyable to talk with him. In more recent years, I've followed his travelogs on Facebook. He did a lot of research and had fascinating insights about the places he would visit. He was a wonderful person who went literally everywhere in the world. I will miss him. 

May his memory be a blessing to all his family and friends.



I met Michael in 2000 on an IPO in New York and we have been friends ever since.  We bonded over travel stories and since then I have been in awe of Michael's intelligence, his accepting nature,  and his love of travel and music.  I was never able to travel with Michael but we went to a lot of concerts in New York together.  Michael visited my husband and me while we were in London in 2005/6 and we had a spectacular lunch at the Fat Duck restaurant.   More recently, we spoke and texted about my career and the seven remaining countries he had yet to visit.  In the 20+ years we have known each other he never failed to wish me well on my birthday.  You will be missed, my friend.  Much love always, Katrina  

I've known Mike since college.  He was a one -of-a-kind guy and the most intelligent person I have every met.  
I will miss him terribly.  Please know that I will always keep him in my prayers.  
The world is a sadder place without him.
-Mary Purdy-Moriarty

It’s difficult to put into words the relationship I had with Mike, as he was the only brother I ever had , despite my sister’s death in 1995.  I only ever saw kindness, hilarious humor, intelligence and brilliance from Mike. If there ever was someone who followed through with their plan to travel and see the world, that was Mike. Until we meet again , my friend.. 

OBITUARY

Michael S. Novins

March 20, 1964 – April 11, 2022

Bloomfield-Cooper Jewish Chapels

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