Michael was born in Columbus, Ohio in 1950. He attended St. Francis Desales High School in Columbus. He was a talented football player who was offered scholarships to such prestigious colleges as Yale University and The United States Naval Academy. However, his parents who had Michael late in their lives, were elderly and he opted to stay closer to home and accepted a football scholarship at the College of Wooster.
After leaving Wooster, Michael served a tour in Vietnam, and when he returned he worked at Sears for many years as well as ran his own concrete company. He was able to continue enjoying the sport of football as an offensive end with one of the most well known minor league football teams, the Columbus Metros. Michael was drafted by the Canadian Football League, but not being a fan of cold weather, he opted to stay in “sunny” Ohio. After his parents passed away he pursued his long time dream of living by the ocean and moved to Sarasota, Florida.
In 1985, he was working for Arby’s Construction when he met his wife, Claire. They were married in 1986 in Fort Worth, Texas. Michael’s second love was his work in the construction industry. He started as a framer and worked his way up to a well respected project manager and construction director. He worked for S&J Enterprises, W.M. Grace Companies, Summit Builders, RJM Homes, and Caliente Construction. During his career, Michael managed the construction of many notable projects, including the corporate headquarters for Outside magazine and Vista Clara Spa, both located in New Mexico. He also completed projects in the Valley for various national chains, including, Lowes, Walmart, and Target. Upon his death, he was Vice President of Operations for Native American Builders, LLC.
Michael is survived by his wife, Claire, his mother-in-law, Beatrice Collins, his brother-in-law and sister-in-law, Jeff Collins and Rosa Villa, his sister-in-law and brother-in-law, Candace and Sanford Green, his niece, Tracy Green Hojdea, and his great nephew and niece, Sanford Holden Hojdea and Saylor Hayden Hojdea, and his goddaughter, Micah Lorain Rind and her parents, his “adopted son” Jeff and his wife Cassandra Rind.
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