In Memoriam: Michael Antonelli

It’s not often that we actually recognize an angel here on earth. How amazingly blessed we were to know such an angel, to smile at him each Sunday, to enjoy dinner with him, to feel safe and protected in his hugs, to know without a doubt that he cared.

Michael was one of those amazing people who lived his faith. You could see it in the way he talked to people, the way he listened. It was easy to hear God in his voice. People magnetized to him because of that. He was a mentor, a teacher, a leader, a comforter, a hero, a friend.

At only 47 years old, a heart attack took Michael up to Heaven this past Saturday. Michael, along with the men’s group at church, was having a blast at their annual retreat – a weekend they all looked forward to throughout the year. He had been laughing when it happened. It didn’t take him immediately, so he was able to tell the men at the retreat he loved them and to tell his wife he loved her. The paramedics did everything they could, but there was no way to save him. They tried for two hours to bring him back. Michael was already with God, though.

Michael made such an imprint on my heart. Now as I sit here in Starbucks with tears in my eyes, I see snapshots of Michael over the 14 months we’ve known him…

• His genuine and welcoming smile when we first entered what would become our church…
• The concern he showed when he visited Scott in the hospital earlier this year…
• His laughter as he helped me organize paperwork for VBS training last May…
• The relish in which he ate the fajitas I served when he and his wife came over for dinner two weeks ago...
• The words of praise he poured over my husband, telling me how amazing Scott is and how lucky St. Andrew is to have him in his congregation…
• The day he caught me in the sanctuary and told me how impressed he was with Hayley doing the high ropes course…
• His arm around my shoulders as he’d ask how my week went…
• His honesty when he told me that life wouldn’t get any easier for a while – not until my home was free of teenage girls. (Joann whacked his arm and said, “Don’t tell her that!”)…
• The amazing way he greeted my parents when they came to service during a visit and his concerted offer to help my dad up to the alter for communion…

Michael was most definitely an angel on earth, so I have not a single doubt that he is now an angel in Heaven, watching down on his beautiful wife and daughters and all of us whom he touched so deeply.