PSD teacher remembered at touching ceremony

More than 600 people attend, tell stories, about teacher Mike Stork

Hugh McMillan

Special to the Gateway

Asked for an estimate of the number of people who attended Mike Stork’s celebration of life ceremony last Thursday at Artondale Elementary School, an organizer said, “well, we had 600 chairs.”

Every one of them was occupied.

Stork, who taught in the Peninsula School District for 30 years, lost his battle with pancreatic cancer earlier this month.

Many of his admirers sat on the floor at the packed gymnasium at Artondale Elementary, where Stork spent 21 years as an educator.

The walls were packed with those standing, and the doorways were flooded with friends who craned their necks for a view of the proceedings.

And there were many who wanted to be there but were unable to attend.

Tom Hulst, a former Peninsula School District Superintendent who was Stork’s lifelong friend, shared many stories of Stork — all the way back to their days together in elementary school. Hulst shared laughs and, occasionally, almost tears as he recounted their adventures together.

“An idea that captures Michael Stork,” Hulst said, “is embodied in the phrase ‘always ready.’ That is the motto of the Foss Maritime Company and is also how Mike inscribed his recently published book about Foss. He personified that motto. He was ready to swim nude in Philips Lake, to go for clams, oysters and crab, and to go for the ball on the wallyball and pickleball court, to lead and organize a school event, and he was ready to respond with dignity and grace to horrific news about his health.”

Artondale Principal Kathy Weymiller encouraged all participants to “make this a celebration of Mike’s wonderful life.”

And so it was.

Knowing that every one in the overflow gathering had stories of Stork to tell, speakers at the microphone were limited. But a recess was called during which Weymiller asked attendees to “turn to your neighbor and share your tales of Mike.”

Many did just that.

School counselor Jon Johansen described how Stork helped throughout the devastating news that Johansen’s young son had cancer, saying he didn’t know how he would have handled it had it not been for Stork’s ever-present comforting counsel.

“Mike had a way of bringing out the best in everyone, making them know they were special,” Johansen said. “Even in the case of a shy boy I have rarely heard speak, Mike engaged him in a chat.”

Stork’s creed, Johansen said, is “Love our Families, Cherish our Friends, and Invest in Children.”

“I was asked to speak today as one of the ‘old-timers’ here,” said colleague Jill DeYoung, a teacher for 24 years, “which is funny to me, because one of the reasons I loved Mike so much was he always made me feel like I was still just a kid.”

Years ago, Stork invented something called the Proud Parent Corner at the Artondale staff room, DeYoung said.

“There were photos and awards on that board documenting accomplishments of our staff’s children,” she said. “I longed to place something on that board. When I got my first ‘My child is an honor student’ bumper sticker, Mike practically held a personal awards ceremony for me. He made me feel like a million.”

Stork embodied the phrase “he’ll give you the shirt off his back.” In 2004, while covering the annual Otter Fun Run for the Gateway, a reporter asked to buy one of the special T-shirts made for the occasion. After learning none were left, Stork pulled his shirt off and insisted that it be accepted as a gift of the day.

That shirt was worn at Thursday’s ceremony.

Stork had a spirited way of doing things, colleague Joyce Sears said.

“He was passionate about life, full of creative energy and fire — not the kind of fire that burns and destroys, but the kind that refines and renews. To meet Mike for the first time, you met a friend for life.”

Many said Stork’s daily regime included handing out hundreds of compliments, asking everyone he saw if they needed a hand, and giving a constant patter of upbeat talk that lifted the spirits of those around him.

Mike’s daughter, Rachel, said: “We are trying to get enough money to put a tugboat Big Toy in the lower field of Artondale. Wouldn’t dad love that?”

Mike Stork Tugboat Fund

Mike Stork, who had a 30-year teaching career with the Peninsula School District, was honored in a Celebration of Life ceremony last Thursday.

Donations can be made in Mike Stork’s Memory to: Mike Stork Family Artondale Tugboat Fund, Rainier Pacific Bank, 3123 56th Street Court NW, Gig Harbor, WA 98335.

For information, call 1-800-228-2858 or visit www.rainierpac.com.

The Stork family also encourages support of the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network, 2141 Rosecrans Ave., Suite 7000, El Segundo, CA 90245. For more information, call 877-2-PANCAN, or visit www.pancan.org.

Hugh McMillan is a longtime freelance writer for The Peninsula Gateway. He can be reached at 253-884-3319.