I'm surprised this space isn't full (yet) of recollections and tributes. Michael seemed to be at the center of a large group of friends, always busy, always sociable. He also seemed calm and prematurely level-headed for a 17 yr-old, and I can still picture him thoughtfully poking his eyeglasses upward on his nose as they repeatedly slid down. His absence here feels like some mistake.
I am MADD! Michael and I were friends since age 7.! We used to spend every Thanksgiving together as a family at Highland Springs Resort!
My funniest memory of Michael was when he decided to challenge the all you can eat rule at Highland Springs! At dinner,Michael ordered more than 10 desserts at the table! The establishment told Michael no more desserts unless he finished what was in front of him! Michael obliged and woofed every dessert down and asked for more!
He was a truly special person who was very sensitive and caring! He was the life of the party and good classmate to all of us!
I miss him ! To honor his memory, I hope that we make sure that our 40th Reunion will use common sense and drink approriately ! Let's have designated drivers ! Michael was killed by the stupidity of a drunk driver!
I am MADD!
Laurie Ackerman
mike was a good friend and we all had some great times up at his house----his dad was more than entertaining and mom loved a house full of kids---cathy has remained a good friend to this day -----from what i've heard, mike would be proud of how his children have turned out --he is missed
Mike was a member of the Hawthorne crew. He was a big tough guy and I remember one time we were playing basketball and I had an open lay up. Mike pushed me from behind and slammed my face into the metal post holding up the backboard and basket. I jumped up to fight and realized it was him. He had a smile on his face which made me stop. I was an aggressive kid in sports but I knew my limits. A worthy adversary. RIP Mike.
Mike,
You have been on my mind for awhile now. Not sure how I wanted to approach this one.
I don't think I really knew you. I don't have any stories to tell about our youth but I did walk by your home everyday to and from Hawthorne for many years., Ironic, I married someone with that last name. I think you would have had a laugh. I remember you laughed alot and I think we danced a lot in grade school.
Life is not fair and I guess you and your family got hit with that pretty hard. So, to the last of the circle of friends from youth that are no longer with us I say.Ii'll see you some time 'Big Guy",,but I hope not for a long long time. RIP MIKE!!! From all the girls in the class of 65' at Hawthorne Elementary.....
I, too,was close friends with Mike during our school years. He was my first boyfriend.I remember spending many good times at his house with his parents,brother and sister.He used tutor me in math.We were in contact up until his untimely death. We would talk on the phone periodically and would try to see each other when he came into town. I echo Laurie's thoughts on being responsible at the upcoming festivities. We should honor Mike and his memory. Mike was a great friend and I miss his calls and our friendship.
I'll never forget Mike and the great times we had together. As Lon said, he was one of the natural born leaders of our Hawthorne crew. I will miss Mike as he was one of those anchors for my elementary and high school memories.
Dear Fellow Norman’s It’s twenty years since Mike passed away . To this day I will remember his effervescent personality and kindness for others . He was loyal to his family as well as his friends . I will be thinking of my childhood friend at our 50th. May your memory Michael serve as many special blessings for all of us to cherish .RIP Michael Wise. XoxoLaurie Ackerman
Though twenty years ago, the memory of Michael's tragic death is still painful. Hard to believe the last time I saw Mike was at my son's Bar Mitzvah, which occurred a relatively short time before the accident which claimed Mike's life. I was honored to give a eulogy at Mike's funeral. He was a great friend, and I miss his unique humor, wit, warmth, and our mutual support. His untimely death reminds us all that we should not dwell on petty matters, and we should cherish our loved ones every day.
Mike Wise was without a doubt the most significant friend I made at BHHS. My first two years in high school was marred by bullying from two completely opposite cliques, such that I became extremely introverted and often even antisocial. Then, my junior year, Mike invited me to become part of his "gang", and NEVER judged me for my failings, but embraced me with his wit, silliness, and joy of life. Memories include 24 hour Monopoly games; Sunday breakfasts which started in the morning with Bev and Doc feeding us as Mike slept till noon and beyond; not to mention the pickup games in the backyard with Mike's "special" rim. Along with Mr. Lew and Mr. Steinbaum, our friendship extended through college years and became lifelong. The sadness I felt when I was informed of his death remains with me to this day, especially as I received a note from him a few days after Hayward gave me the news, along with a photo of him and his kids in the Caribbean. Mike Wise is an example of the best people we graduated with and I know he will be at the reunion in spirit!
Knew him from Grade school at Hathrone,always a happy guy with a great personalty.I remember he was Kathy Kents boyfriend for a while.Love to know where she is?
Thank you Laurie for acknowledging Michael Wise. His early departure is a sad reminder of how life is not always fair and how much we should not take things for granted for life is too short. Sorry enough preaching. With all due respect to MJ, the song or slogan of I WANNA BE LIKE MIKE could very well have been about him. With out a doubt for many of us, he was the Pied Piper for many of the Class of 69. There were some who did not always get his wit, sarcasm and maybe preverse sense of humor, but to me he had a heart of gold. During our high school years, the weekend and summer days usually started over at Doc's and Bev's around noon. We would always find something fun to do, go home for dinner and reconvene over at Mike's for more adventures. So often we ended the evening over at Bob's Big Boy or Norms for their steak and eggs.There are too many stories that I could share but not sure where I would start. We remained close thru our college years he at NorthWestern and me at UCLA. My first plane flight was to his Wedding in New Orleans and we should pretend that it was like Las Vegas and let the stories remain there. Although he never relaized his dream of being an executive for a Major League Baseball team, his profession as a accountant allowed him to visit Los Angeles often and allowed us to see each other on his visits here.I will finish by telling you this one story. On one of his last visits here, he was early for his flight home or to his next auditing job. He called and said he had some time before his flight and asked if he could come over to visit since I live really close to LAX. We were just talking and he turned really serious which was not like him. He then gave me one of the greatest compliments one could receive. He said something like Out of all of my friends and family, I am most envious of your marriage and kids. So when the name Michael Wise is mentioned, a smile will alway come to my face and with that a few tears mourning our lost but more so a tear of joy for having a friend as special as Michael Wise.
Most of my memories of Beverly include Michael since he was my boyfriend for most of high school and my first year of college. Michael was an amazing person so full of life. He was very enterprising starting his own baseball camp in high school. He had a large group of friends who we were always around. Most of his friends didn’t get girlfriends till the end of high school so it was usually me and his friends at the beach or his pool. So many memories going to concerts, Tees Beach and Dolores‘s drive- in. In retrospect I try to look at the good times and I’m grateful for all the great memories. I did see Michael years later in New Orleans when my husband and I were doing a movie there. . My daughter was one and his daughter was in middle school. It was a great time reminiscing about our past. I wish he could be here to celebrate with everyone this weekend.
Alan Duke
My funniest memory of Michael was when he decided to challenge the all you can eat rule at Highland Springs! At dinner,Michael ordered more than 10 desserts at the table! The establishment told Michael no more desserts unless he finished what was in front of him! Michael obliged and woofed every dessert down and asked for more!
He was a truly special person who was very sensitive and caring! He was the life of the party and good classmate to all of us!
I miss him ! To honor his memory, I hope that we make sure that our 40th Reunion will use common sense and drink approriately ! Let's have designated drivers ! Michael was killed by the stupidity of a drunk driver!
I am MADD!
Laurie Ackerman
You have been on my mind for awhile now. Not sure how I wanted to approach this one.
I don't think I really knew you. I don't have any stories to tell about our youth but I did walk by your home everyday to and from Hawthorne for many years., Ironic, I married someone with that last name. I think you would have had a laugh. I remember you laughed alot and I think we danced a lot in grade school.
Life is not fair and I guess you and your family got hit with that pretty hard. So, to the last of the circle of friends from youth that are no longer with us I say.Ii'll see you some time 'Big Guy",,but I hope not for a long long time. RIP MIKE!!! From all the girls in the class of 65' at Hawthorne Elementary.....
Laurie Ackerman
Dear Fellow Norman’s It’s twenty years since Mike passed away . To this day I will remember his effervescent personality and kindness for others . He was loyal to his family as well as his friends . I will be thinking of my childhood friend at our 50th. May your memory Michael serve as many special blessings for all of us to cherish .RIP Michael Wise. XoxoLaurie Ackerman
Bruce Steinbaum
Though twenty years ago, the memory of Michael's tragic death is still painful. Hard to believe the last time I saw Mike was at my son's Bar Mitzvah, which occurred a relatively short time before the accident which claimed Mike's life. I was honored to give a eulogy at Mike's funeral. He was a great friend, and I miss his unique humor, wit, warmth, and our mutual support. His untimely death reminds us all that we should not dwell on petty matters, and we should cherish our loved ones every day.
Michel de Benedictis
Mike Wise was without a doubt the most significant friend I made at BHHS. My first two years in high school was marred by bullying from two completely opposite cliques, such that I became extremely introverted and often even antisocial. Then, my junior year, Mike invited me to become part of his "gang", and NEVER judged me for my failings, but embraced me with his wit, silliness, and joy of life. Memories include 24 hour Monopoly games; Sunday breakfasts which started in the morning with Bev and Doc feeding us as Mike slept till noon and beyond; not to mention the pickup games in the backyard with Mike's "special" rim. Along with Mr. Lew and Mr. Steinbaum, our friendship extended through college years and became lifelong. The sadness I felt when I was informed of his death remains with me to this day, especially as I received a note from him a few days after Hayward gave me the news, along with a photo of him and his kids in the Caribbean. Mike Wise is an example of the best people we graduated with and I know he will be at the reunion in spirit!
Francine Chalme (Meyberg)
Knew him from Grade school at Hathrone,always a happy guy with a great personalty.I remember he was Kathy Kents boyfriend for a while.Love to know where she is?
Hayward Lew
Thank you Laurie for acknowledging Michael Wise. His early departure is a sad reminder of how life is not always fair and how much we should not take things for granted for life is too short. Sorry enough preaching. With all due respect to MJ, the song or slogan of I WANNA BE LIKE MIKE could very well have been about him. With out a doubt for many of us, he was the Pied Piper for many of the Class of 69. There were some who did not always get his wit, sarcasm and maybe preverse sense of humor, but to me he had a heart of gold. During our high school years, the weekend and summer days usually started over at Doc's and Bev's around noon. We would always find something fun to do, go home for dinner and reconvene over at Mike's for more adventures. So often we ended the evening over at Bob's Big Boy or Norms for their steak and eggs.There are too many stories that I could share but not sure where I would start. We remained close thru our college years he at NorthWestern and me at UCLA. My first plane flight was to his Wedding in New Orleans and we should pretend that it was like Las Vegas and let the stories remain there. Although he never relaized his dream of being an executive for a Major League Baseball team, his profession as a accountant allowed him to visit Los Angeles often and allowed us to see each other on his visits here.I will finish by telling you this one story. On one of his last visits here, he was early for his flight home or to his next auditing job. He called and said he had some time before his flight and asked if he could come over to visit since I live really close to LAX. We were just talking and he turned really serious which was not like him. He then gave me one of the greatest compliments one could receive. He said something like Out of all of my friends and family, I am most envious of your marriage and kids. So when the name Michael Wise is mentioned, a smile will alway come to my face and with that a few tears mourning our lost but more so a tear of joy for having a friend as special as Michael Wise.
Barbara Millard (Stephens)
Most of my memories of Beverly include Michael since he was my boyfriend for most of high school and my first year of college. Michael was an amazing person so full of life. He was very enterprising starting his own baseball camp in high school. He had a large group of friends who we were always around. Most of his friends didn’t get girlfriends till the end of high school so it was usually me and his friends at the beach or his pool. So many memories going to concerts, Tees Beach and Dolores‘s drive- in. In retrospect I try to look at the good times and I’m grateful for all the great memories. I did see Michael years later in New Orleans when my husband and I were doing a movie there. . My daughter was one and his daughter was in middle school. It was a great time reminiscing about our past. I wish he could be here to celebrate with everyone this weekend.