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Michael Alan "Mike" Healey

Image of Michael Healey
Birth Date: June 19, 1960
Death Date: January 14, 2011
Age at Death: 50

Obituaries

Vail Daily page A8 - February 13, 2011

Former Vail resident Michael Alan Healey, 50, of Paonia, a man who lived a life of adventure, died Jan. 14 at St. Mary's Hospital in Grand Junction.

Born June 19, 1960, in New York City, son of Joseph and Marjory Healey and brother to Robert Healey, Mike spent his youth in the town of Grant City, Staten Island, N.Y. He was first employed in the late 1970s at the Wall Street law firm of Mudge, Rose, Guthrie and Alexander, and then served for a number of years as a therapy aide at the New York State Office of Mental Health's South Beach Psychiatric Center, Coney Island Unit. Later, he became a skilled carpenter, building stage sets for concert tours and the New York Metropolitan Opera House.

In the early 1990s, he moved to Montana, where he joined the U.S Forest Service as a woodland firefighter and served many years as crew sawyer on the Bitterroot Interagency Hotshot Crew. It was about this time he proclaimed himself a “drifter,” as he would travel about between fire seasons. In Mike's case, the term drifter had nothing but positive connotations — it was something he was proud to say and represented a lifestyle that many envied.

After an injury ended his firefighting career, he moved to Vail, where he worked as a member of the old gondola crew and then as a lift mechanic for Vail Resorts. Many remember him being at the top of Chair 26, and he was often seen atop a new gondola tower by gondola riders as the cars went by. He was described by co-workers as “an extremely detailed and hard worker who showed an immense amount of pride” and “never complained or shied away from any of the challenges presented to him.” During his time in Vail, Mike gained the respect of his peers, earned many close friends and touched many more, including all his pals at the Sundance, and even an Elvis impersonator. He loved working on the mountain and certainly called Vail home.

Mike returned to New York in 2000 to care for his ailing mother before moving to the Florida Keys after her death. In Florida, he spent several years as a technical diver working at the Tavernier Dive Center. He spent his free time diving the many wrecks around the Keys, although his quest for treasure was never realized. In 2008, he left Florida and spent the next year visiting friends on the East Coast prior to returning to Colorado.

Despite his guarded veneer, those that Mike embraced found a caring, complex and great-natured old soul. Children, in particular, saw right through his shield and took to him instantly. Mike took great pleasure in returning their affections.

Mike was an avid reader, outdoorsman, advanced technical scuba diver, occasional sailor, home brewer and eclectic collector. As he progressed in life, he liked to call himself “a well rounded monkey,” another title he liked. Throughout his travels, Mike befriended many who treated him as an extension of their own families. Although his death was a shock, it was not completely incongruent with the man or the lifestyle of our modern day American drifter.

Mike is survived by a son, Timothy Kirby, as well as many, many friends who loved him and will dearly miss him.

A farewell for Mike is being held at the Eagle's Nest fire pit on Vail Mountain from 5-6:30 p.m. Monday, Feb. 28, accessible by foot only via the gondola, followed by a gathering at Garfinkel's in Lionshead from 7-10 p.m.

A memorial website has been set up at www.midlifedrifter.com, where everyone is welcome to share stories and photos to celebrate Mike's life.

Vail Mountaineer page 4 - February 27, 2011

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