Michael L. Simonich

West Point, 1968

Be Thou At Peace

Posted by Karen Simonich Gundry Smith on August 13, 2023:

My big brother, Mike, died on June 29th and I've been traveling down memory lane ever since. I guess I didn't realize how much time I actually got to spend with him, given that he was 10 years older than me and he left home for West Point when I was 8 years old. Those West Point years were fun for my whole family especially when Mike came home for a visit. He often brought friends with him, friends who were big and tall and good-looking and boy could they eat! I remember the breakfasts my mother made for them - two dozen eggs, a loaf of bread for toast, bacon, fruit and whatever else was available. My assignment was to make lunch for Mike and his friends -- not just one sandwich apiece but three and then some other stuff. Mike's friends called him Scooter and I remember that I was called "Scooter Two". Of course that was totally super for me! I just loved my brother! During one visit home Mike decided that the downstairs recreation room would be a good place for a bar since the room was pretty big and there would still be plenty of room to dance as well as sit around. The bar that he built with his friends turned out to be the tallest and biggest bar I've ever seen in a house. I'm sure my Dad had misgivings about it but I think he enjoyed seeing Mike in action. Once completed, there had to be a party to christen this bar. I was taught how to mix up a few drinks and I had to stand on a stool in order to reach the top and see everyone. Mind you, I was only 11 or 12 at that time. The first few hours of this party were so fun but I was summoned upstairs by my Dad before things got crazy for someone my age. I understand that my Dad would go down later that night to check on everyone and he ended up covering up everyone with a blanket. My Dad, who was rather reserved, was very sweet. In fact, let me tell you something interesting about my Dad. He was almost 56 when I was born. I was his youngest. I know that I kept my Dad young and active. He was proud to be my Dad and I looked up to him. I think of Mike when I say this because I'm sure that my brother felt the same way about his youngest daughter Elira. As an older Dad, Elira kept my brother young at heart and he loved her very much. In a couple of other memories I'm driving with Mike to Orlando, Florida to visit Hal Wilhite, a West Point friend, over New Years. Hal's parents lived on the inland waterway and we got to water ski almost right out the door. The drive to Orlando was adventurous and I had to have a pillow behind me in order to reach the pedal - we were driving Mike's silver 190 SL Mercedes that he had shipped from Germany. It was a classic! I think I was about 18. As you can see, my big brother and I went places together. One trip took us to the Bahamas with a couple of his friends and we hung out at the beach by day and the casino by night. I also spent a month (mostly around the apartment pool) in exciting Fort Sill, Oklahoma when Mike was stationed there. I tanned by day and danced a lot on weekends. Later when Mike was living in Virginia in the mid-70s, we had some fun tennis games and meals at his apartment complex. He then moved to a house near Mount Vernon where he often hosted barbecues and dinner parties. He loved gathering his friends for a feast and he loved living close to the Potomac River. I guess I didn't realize how much time we spent together because the last 46 years haven't brought us close, except for a back surgery in SF with recovery at our house when my youngest son William got to meet Elira for the first time. Elira was 11 months old. William was so enamored with little Elira - we have pictures of him gently holding her in one hand like a football, and dancing around the room with her to his favorite music. After that visit, Mike, Flu & Elira made it to three family weddings in the U.S.: Anne & Gurpreet's wedding in Hawaii, Stephanie's wedding in Virginia and Frank's wedding in Marin County in 2015, when my mother was 99 years old. Speaking of weddings, Mike walked me down the aisle in 1982. My Dad had just died and Mike was there helping me get stuff ready for the wedding. When Mike was in high school and thinking of college, he wanted to go to Harvard, but my mother was afraid of Mike's wild side and persuaded him to go to West Point. My brother was very smart and he would have done well anywhere. He learned without a lot of study time and he taught himself a lot of things without instruction. He played the piano, guitar and the accordion well, never taking any lessons. He had such a good ear for music...and for learning foreign languages - you should've heard him speak Albanian. Back in the day he got into woodworking for awhile and made some really beautiful furniture for his family. There was nothing that Mike couldn't do if he set his mind to it. He was gifted and smart as heck. Many of you have been to Albania and have memories of being together in the place Mike most recently called home. I know how much he enjoyed the cafe lifestyle, eating outside in nice weather and talking to the other cafe patrons. He enjoyed hiking in the mountains and spending time at the beach in Vlora. In the last few months over a video call I remember Mike saying how much he'd like to get back home and drive his Tesla. It was a simple pleasure and it was sweet to hear him say that. I looked up to my brother and I loved him very much. He was kind, generous and sweet. He wasn't perfect by any means but he was my brother and that was enough for me.

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