Michael Burke McGrath

Michael Burke McGrath passed away in Louisville, Colorado on the 5th of July, surrounded by his loving family. A devoted husband, father and grandfather, Mike was a man of extraordinary intellect, humor and kindness.

He was a professor of mechanical engineering at the Colorado School of Mines for most of his career. While an undergraduate, Mike worked as an engineer at Martin Marietta in the early 1960s. In 1973, Mike attained his long-time ambition to teach at a university when he was hired by the Colorado School of Mines as a faculty liaison between the Computing Center and the faculty. He went on to become Director of the Computing Center for several years, and then focused on teaching in the Mechanical Engineering Department until he retired in 1999 as Professor Emeritus.

In addition to his professional career, Mike loved to give a helping hand to his children. He managed rental houses for them when they were living overseas, he participated in building projects and renovations, and he acted as general contractor for his home in Golden, Colorado. His hobbies included travel, sculpting and reading history.

Mike was born on July 24, 1937, in Iowa City, Iowa. He grew up in Davenport Iowa, the son of Robert Joseph and Roseann (Burke) McGrath. He attended Saint Ambrose Academy High School. He received his BS and MS from the University of Notre Dame, South Bend Indiana, and earned his PhD at the University of Colorado in Boulder.

In 1964 he met and married his wife Ann in Littleton, Colorado. After raising a family in Littleton and Golden, they retired and bought a house in Broomfield where they lived since 2009. Michael is survived by his beloved wife of 54 years Frances Ann (Shurtleff) McGrath and his children and grandchildren: Kristin McGrath and her husband Steven Schonberger of Washington, DC and their children Alexander and Ella Rose; Kevin McGrath and his wife Shannon (Tartar) of Louisville and their children Megan and Evan; and Ryan McGrath and his wife Natalie Mladenov of Solana Beach, CA and their children Fiona and Max. Mike is predeceased by his parents, and siblings Robert Dennis McGrath and Joanne McGrath Peters.

A memorial service will be held at 2:00 pm on Saturday, August 3, 2019, at Crown Hill, Chapel of Peace. To honor his Irish heritage, there will be a live bagpiper piping from 1:00pm until the service begins. Enjoy!

In lieu of flowers, contributions in Mike’s honor may be given to the Colorado School of Mines Foundation for student scholarships: CSM Foundation, PO Box 4005, Golden Colorado, 80402, or https://giving.mines.edu/s/840/start_foundation.aspx.

For online condolences please visit: www.crownhillfuneral.com