Obituary of Michael R. English

Michael R. “Mike” English, 75, longtime resident of Iowa City, died suddenly Monday, April 17, 2017, at Mercy Hospital. Funeral services will be held at 10am Saturday, April 22, 2017, at The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints @ 2730 Bradford Drive, Iowa City. Visitation will be from 4 to 7 pm Friday at the Church. Burial will be at the Oakland Cemetery in Iowa City. For a more complete obituary, an opportunity to share a condolence, thought or memory please go to the funeral home website @ www.gayandciha.com. Gay & Ciha Funeral and Cremation Services is caring for Mike’s family and his services. Michael Raymond English was born 0ctober 30, 1941 in Chicago Illinois. He was the youngest of three sons born to Joseph English and Genevieve Nejedly. A few years after his birth the family moved to Dubuque, Iowa, where he lived until he moved to Iowa City to pursue a degree in engineering at the University. He remained in Iowa City the rest of his life. While working on his degree he found a part time job as a draftsman at the physics department. His outstanding work drew the attention of one of the main researchers in aerospace physics, who hired Mike first as a draftsman and later added more responsibilities until Mike became the head engineer, designing the instruments to be launched into space to gather scientific data. As the space program wound down he started do occasional work at Pearson and quickly found a second career. He continued there until his retirement in 2015. In 1968 Mike married Sandra Hutchinson. They had five children - Christina, Kathryn, Anna, Joseph, and Timothy. Mike was an avid bicyclist, participating in the local bike club for many years, riding RAGBRAI twenty times, and twice doing bicycle tours in Holland with his wife. He also had a deep appreciation for music. He kept a large collection of classical performances on CD and vinyl. For several years he sang in a local barbershop chorus, adding his rich bass to the music, and he sometimes joined his wife, participating in her church choir. He was a craftsman, transforming the fixer upper house he bought as a young husband into the beautiful home his children grew up in and where his wife still resides. Most of all he was a wonderful, husband, father, grandfather, and friend. He is survived by his two brothers: Gerald English of Caledonia, New York and Dennis English of Coal Valley, Illinois; his wife Sandra; children: Christy (Christian) Blancard of Winnipeg, Canada; Kathy (Matt) Mahoney of Rockport, Maine; Anna English of Des Moines, Iowa; Joe English of Woodside, New York; and Tim English of Chicago, Illinois; and his grandchildren; Reese and Wyatt Blancard; Jonathan, Aaron, Rowan, and Ethan Mahoney, and Danielle and Adam Roundy.