I met Myke at least by age 12 but probably earlier as our families both attended Sacred Heart church and it’s possible we were in Sunday School/CCD together but I don’t remember exactly. We became good, close friends in middle school, through high school and beyond. I remember taking tennis lessons at the B.A.C. with Myke and swimming at Chism beach and Burrow’s landing; each a short walk or bike ride from his parent’s house. We were pretty mobile on our bikes. Many activities brought us together growing up including tennis, snowboarding, church youth groups, and a mutual enthusiasm for the movie Top Gun. As we entered high school and aged into getting our drivers licenses, we could drive ourselves up to the pass to snowboard and organize our own camping and backpacking trips with others (Ben, Matt, Alex, Todd). Lake Kachees and Salmon La Sac were two of our favorite camp spots; both within a couple hours drive from Bellevue.
I remember he read all the time. Especially Sci-Fi and all of the Tom Clancy books. Of course he was super bright and excelled academically and then later in business. I think he enjoyed anything that was challenging. Rock climbing, snowboarding, computers; …computers and rock climbing together..
We didn’t see as much of each other as we got older, but I’ll always be grateful to have known Myke and to have shared these memories and others with him.
– Rob McKinstry