Obituary of Michael Andrew Hajdu

Michael Andrew Hajdu, MD, PhD, was born March 4, 1955, in Washington, DC. He died December 16, 2024, in Houston, TX, after suffering a stroke while vacationing in Mexico. Mike was the youngest son of Stephen Hajdu and Margaret Blakey Hajdu.  He is survived by his wife of 30 years, Laura Diane Routh, (Lauri di, Iowa City, Iowa)  and his brother, Nicholas Hajdu (New Orleans, LA).

 

Mike was a graduate of Knox College in Galesburg, Illinois, where he earned a Bachelor of Science in Biology in 1978. After graduation, he tried his hand at being an auto mechanic, a dart salesman, and even a snake breeder.  Eventually, Mike acknowledged his inner scientist and moved on to more edifying pursuits.  He earned a PhD in Cardiovascular Physiology from the University of Nebraska at Omaha and engaged in postdoctoral research at the University of Iowa, and New York Medical College.

During the Spring of 1994, Mike and Lauri met when she was his bartender at Tuck’s Place, a beloved watering hole on the north side of Iowa City. They quickly became inseparable.

 

Mike went on to receive his medical degree from the University of Iowa College of Medicine in 1997, and completed both his residency and fellowship in Cardiology at the University of Vermont. Ever the outdoorsman, he loved Vermont, and spent several happy years there, fishing and skiing, and riding his motorcycle, whilst doctoring on the side.

In 2002, Mike and Lauri moved from Vermont back to the Midwest, and settled in Lawrence, Kansas, where Mike practiced Cardiology until 2015. Mike and Lauri, with their beloved dogs Beemer, Lindy, and later, Biskit, walked the Baker wetlands nearly every single evening for the 13 years that they lived in Lawrence.

Over the course of his too-short life, Mike was the consummate adventurer. 

He rode his bicycle on 31 RAGBRAIs, beginning bike rides as far afield as Colorado, Wyoming and Saskatchewan. Mike would ride with anyone, but most often he pedaled with his dear friends Toby Hermann, and Michael Davis. He hiked the Grand Canyon multiple times, backpacked out west, paddled the Buffalo River, and canoed and portaged the Boundary Waters. He fly-fished in Honduras, Belize, the Bahamas, Mexico, Missouri, Arkansas, Colorado, Montana and NE Iowa. Mike absolutely loved to fish. He cast his fly rod at every chance, and always released the trout, tarpon, permit or bonefish back to its habitat with a gentle, grateful hand.

 

In anticipation of retirement, Mike and Lauri moved back to Iowa City in 2015, and settled into their home in the Longfellow neighborhood. Mike continued to practice cardiology until retirement in 2022, and was beloved as a doctor, colleague and friend to many at Mercy Hospital. 

Upon full retirement, Mike took a leap and bought the lakeside cabin of his dreams, in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. It was there that he spent much of his final summer, swimming, fishing, throwing the ball for his beloved dog Tucker, and gathering around the fire with old friends and new neighbors alike.

 

Live music was a central part of Mike’s entire life. As a young man, he ventured widely with his friends Dr. Bob (Robert Weiss, MD), Shine (Mark Belser), and KY (Jim Morse) to Grateful Dead concerts all over America. Kansas introduced Mike to his bluegrass music community, which was very important to him. Over the years, he taught himself to sight read music and play the guitar. Much to the dismay of his dogs, he was known to practice nearly every single day. He had perfected several songs, including the well-loved classic “Hang Down Your Head Tom Dooley” and “Leaving on a Jet Plane.” He had also very nearly learned, after over 15 years of practice, how to play “Ripple,” his favorite song by the Grateful Dead. Mike absolutely loved being able to jam with his Kansas friends, especially Mike Whitman (Wichita, KS) and Ron Bass (Emporia, KS). Mike loved all of his festival friends.

 

Mike will be remembered for his incredible intellect, myriad talents, persistence, patience, loyalty, compassion, and his wicked sense of humor. A celebration of Mike’s life will be held at some time in the future. Private interment of his ashes will occur at Oakland Cemetery in Iowa City, Iowa, in the New Year.

 

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in his name to the CommUnity Crisis Services Food Bank, https://builtbycommunity.org/i-need-help/food-bank/ or Planned Parenthood, https://www.plannedparenthood.org/ as both organizations honor Mike’s commitment to leaving the world a better, more just and compassionate place.