Michael James Harvey

Michael, a gentle and creative man, was most content in a boat on the water. His day job was as a professor at Portland State University, where he taught hundreds of students from around the world how to speak English and how to teach English. But he really taught them to change their perspectives and to open their minds, and he heard from dozens of them thanking him for changing the trajectory of their lives.

Michael’s other, happy work was fishing for salmon anywhere, mostly in Alaska where he was a commercial fisherman with Beth. They bonded on a solo 500-mile canoe trip down the Yukon River in 1995 and were married in 1997.

Michael was a skilled woodworker and carpenter, too. He built a wherry, which he and Beth rowed regularly on the Willamette; he expanded their home by adding rooms on the second floor; he made much of the furniture in their home; he could fix anything that needed fixing.

He also became a skilled winemaker, producing many bottles of Chamboursin, Pinot Noir, and lovely peach wines, most of which he gave to his friends and neighbors.

Michael loved to travel around the world. He spoke French and Spanish. He might wake one morning, decide that he was going to some distant destination, and hitch hike to the airport. He borrowed his brother’s car one day, saying that he needed to go to San Diego, and a few days later sent a photo of the car in Guatemala with smiling children sitting on the hood. He bought a one-way ticket to Paris and worked at a Parisian bar until he could afford a plane ticket home. He taught abroad for two years at a university in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Michael believed that everyone he met had dignity, and each person mattered to him. In return, Michael mattered to all his friends and neighbors. He is dearly missed by everyone who had the privilege of knowing him.