Obituaries

Michael James Worley died unexpectedly in his home on February 16, 2023. He was 69.

The youngest of five children, Mike was born in Sault Ste. Marie on September 15, 1953, to James and Roberta Worley. He graduated from Sault High School with the Class of 1971. He played football and basketball for the Blue Devils, participated in men’s slow-pitch softball as a player and umpire, and enthusiastically followed the Lakers hockey team during their championship years.

Mike married Gwen LeuVoy on July 14, 1973, and they were expecting to celebrate their golden anniversary this year. He enlisted in the U.S. Navy and served three years as a hospital corpsman at Great Lakes Naval Hospital in Illinois. For his fourth year, he was attached to a Marine division in Okinawa, Japan. He and Gwen still have lifelong friends from his time in the military. Mike used the G.I. Bill to attend Lake Superior State University, graduating in 1983 with a degree in Human Services. He worked at Lake State and had the honor of supervising the resident advisor staff, many of whom are good friends to this day.

Other employment included positions with U. S. Customs and Immigration, Inter-Tribal Council of Michigan, and Michigan Child Welfare Agency. He found his true calling as the Intervention Specialist at Lincoln Elementary School. Even after four years of retirement, he was greeted with “Mr. Mike” from countless former students when he was out and about in Sault Ste. Marie. His school family was so special to him, and oh, the stories he could tell!

Mike and Gwen proudly raised two delightful children: Carolyn (Joshua) Brady of Milwaukee, WI and Eric (Katey Price) Worley of Albion, Michigan. The apple of his eye was grandson Sebastian Michael Kai Brady, and he had nine joyful months watching his entertaining antics. Mike fiercely loved his family and friends, and whether you knew him as Big Mike, Uncle Mike, Mr. Mike or just Mike, you knew you had a friend in him.

Mike is survived by his wife Gwen, his children and grandson, his sisters Jan Jobes, Linda (Ted) Haapala, and Charlene (Bill) Good; sisters-in-law Gayla (James) Palmer, Sherry (Ken) Demaray, and mother-in-law Dolores LeuVoy, all of Sault Ste. Marie; and brother-in-law Randall (Angel) LeuVoy, of Lancaster, OH; as well as several nieces and nephews.

He was preceded in death by his parents, his brother Donald Worley, his father-in-law Donald LeuVoy, and his bother-in-law John Jobes.

A memorial service will be held at 4:00 PM on Saturday, February 25, 2023, at C.S. Mulder Funeral Home. Friends may gather at the funeral home that same day starting at 1:00 PM.

In lieu of flowers, please consider a charitable donation to the Chippewa County Community Foundation for a scholarship to be awarded to a high school graduate pursuing a degree in teaching/education. Visit www.chippewacountycommunityfoundation.org or mail CCCF, 511 Ashmun Street, Unit 202, Sault Ste. Marie, MI 49783. Please memo the Michael J. Worley Memorial Scholarship.