David Michael McAuliffe's Obituary
On January 26, 2023, our family lost a beloved brother and uncle – David Michael McAuliffe “Mike” (age 86), who passed away peacefully surrounded by his family.
Mike was born on October 6, 1936 in Albion, MI, to Lawrence F. and Marian L. (Biggs) McAuliffe. He loved fishing with his dad, racing cars and motorcycles, and tormenting his 3 sisters. He later attended Albion College for 2 years before enlisting in the US Air Force with his first station at Presque Isle AFB, Maine. While there, he worked on plane radar equipment and remained in the AF until 1959. Following that, he moved back to Michigan, attended college at Western Michigan University, and eventually went to work for IBM as a computer technician. He even worked with the old punch cards!
IBM eventually transferred him to the San Francisco Bay area where he met his beautiful English wife, Madeline Patricia Hill. Mike and Madeline were married in June 1975 and traveled the world together, including Hawaii, France, Ireland, England, Spain, New Zealand, Australia.
Mike retired from IBM in 1991 after working there for 30 years. He and Madeline then moved to Tucson, AZ, where they enjoyed hiking the Grand Canyon, exploring the Tucson Gem Show, trips to Mexico, and working extensively with Handi-Dogs, a nonprofit organization that provides specialized training to people and dogs to enhance independence and quality of life. Mike became a certified Master Gardner and served on the architectural and landscaping committee as well as the board of directors for his gated community. He also volunteered as a docent at the Pima Air Museum where he educated patrons about the WWII planes and their heroic pilots. Mike was very proud to be a veteran just like many of our family members, and especially proud that his Dad had worked on building the B24 planes years ago. Sadly, Mike lost Madeline entirely too early to cancer in 2005. He continued to work at the Pima Air museum and enjoyed the Arizona basketball and football games.
In 2020 right before the COVID shutdown, Mike moved to Florida to be closer to his sisters, nieces, and nephew. Although he battled dementia, he never lost his sense of humor or positive outlook. When asked how he was doing, he always responded with “Better than most!” and added a very big smile. He was generous with donations to the homeless shelter, food bank, and other nonprofits. He was an eat-dessert-first-and-often kind of guy, especially if it involved chocolate.
Mike was genuinely loved and will be missed by his 3 beautiful sisters: Ann McAuliffe Cornell, Carol McAuliffe Moerman (Rene), and Jane McAuliffe Rix (Terry). Mike and his wife did not have children of their own but his nieces and nephew were a large part of his life. He will be missed by all of them and their significant others: Cyndi Cornell Reardon (BJ), Steve Cornell, Elizabeth (Lack) Goodman (Scott), Christine (Lack) Elzinga, and his great niece Lilyanne Goodman.
The family will hold a private service for Mike at a later date. In lieu of flowers, please send a donation to the Alzheimer’s Association or Handi-Dogs (Tucson, AZ) in Mike’s memory.
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