Michael William Coyle

8/16/41 to 2/23/21

Michael William Coyle, a longtime resident of southern Humboldt County, California, passed away Feb. 23 in Monterey, California after a long illness. Michael was born Aug. 16, 1941 in Luanshya, Northern Rhodesia (now Zambia) to William (Bill) and Eileen Coyle. He grew up in Zambia and South Africa, and as a young man worked in the mines in the Copper Belt, traveled to Denmark and Scotland where he went to college and worked as a physical education teacher for several years.

In 1965, Michael moved to the Yukon, Canada for work before attending UCLA in Los Angeles. There Michael met his wife of 51 years, Linda (Kelly) Coyle, and graduated with a degree in kinesiology in 1970.

Michael was a lifelong athlete, representing Northern Rhodesia as a swimmer in the 1960 Rome Olympics, and was a 4-year All-American rugby player at UCLA (he made the US Rugby team and toured Australia). Some of his favorite hobbies were following sports (especially track and field), amateur photography, travel and enjoying nature.

After a brief time as the Recreation and Parks director in Needles, California, in 1978 Michael moved with his young family (children Catrina, Kelly, Jack) to the beautiful redwood region of Humboldt County, to an 80-acre homestead in Salmon Creek, which he then called home for 41 years, stewarding the land for the future. Michael was a loyal friend and hardworking neighbor, with a quick wit and a generous spirit.

In his long life, he was lucky to see much of the world, including trips with

his family to Mexico, Spain, Guatemala, China (Beijing Olympics 2008), and many US states. But the travel highlight he enjoyed most was in 2002 he took his family (“kids” now adults) on a 3-month adventure to the Middle East and his childhood home in southern and eastern Africa. The family moved to Carmel in 2019, but continues to maintain ties to the community of Salmon Creek and the land they love.

Michael was beloved by his family who survives him, including wife, Linda, daughters, Catrina Coyle and Kelly Coyle (Domingos); son, Jack Coyle; grandchildren, Cauan and Mila Melo; his sister Margaret Turner (Clive) and niece and nephew. A small family gathering is planned in the near future on their land in Humboldt County.