When we're not together...........

Let me introduce you to my angel.....

My angel at home......

I met Michael on May 15, 1982 while working a political campaign. Even though we lived in different cities, we found lots of ways to be in the same place at the same time. Our love grew.It soon became obvious to both of us that we would spend the rest of our lives together. Little did I know how short that time would be.

.Michael and I were married on November 6, 1993 at Montview Presbyteian Church in Denver, Colorado.Our wedding was truly a celebration of love. We were surrounded by many friends and family. Our four and half year marriage was a great adventure. We spent all of our anniversaries in Estes Park,Co. It was a way for us to spend some quiet time away from the ringing phones, traffic and demands of everyday life. We also enjoyed celebrating holidays with family. Christmas was spent with my parents and grandmother in Cheyenne Michael enjoyed cooking especially for lots of friends and family. His specialties included the hottest chili you will ever taste, turkey and dressing, white chocolate lasagna and cheesecake Every fall Michael and his lifelong friend would spend hours canning homemade chutney using green tomatoes from Don's garden and nearly every kind of fruit imaginable from apples to peaches to pears to mangos

.

My legal angel......

Michael was educated in parochial schools. He attended St. Bernadettes School from 1^st - 8^th grades.In 1962 he entered the prestigious Jesuit High school ,Regis. It was while studying at Regis that he decided to commit his professional life to the law. Following high school graduation Michael entered Regis University Upon completing his undergraduate work, Michael.He began his legal career with several lawyers in private practice in Denver. He soon became aware that what he really wanted to do was prosecute. This search took him to Canon City , Co. In 1975 Michael became a deputy district attorney and his career in prosecution began. For the next 23 years he served the communities of Trinidad, Durango, Salida and Montrose Colorado. The law enforcement community respected his knowledge of the law and his skills in the courtroom .Throughout his career he played key roles in many high profile cases including convicting a man for a murder committed 23 years earlier. Michael's top priorities were keeping drunk drivers off the streets and protecting victims of domestic and child abuse. He liked to say it "was a good day. several bad guys went to jail". He also trained many young prosecutors. Michael Stern former 7th Judicial District Attorney and currently with the Attorney General's office in Guam was trained by Michael. Stern called him " one of the most knowledgeable individuals in the area of criminal law in the entire state. Wyatt Angelo remarked that Michael had the ability to recall details from obscure cases " The stuff most people would have to look up he would have stored away i a cuby hole in the back of his mind." Don Eberle a life long friend and former state legislator stated " Mike possessed one of the finest, natural legal minds that I know and he will be missed by those who work in law enforcement." Upon learning of Michael's death a fellow prosecutor lamented " this is the end of an era".

My Angel at play

Michael spent most of his time working but he did take time for a little diversion. His main hobby was working with radio controlled model airplanes. He collected model airplane magazines. In fact I still have 10 boxes in my basement! Occasionally he even flew the planes he built.

Fishing and hunting provided Michael an opportunity to get away from the grind of the courtroom. Several times a year Michael and his friend Charlie would go to Lake Powell to fish for bass. Charlie always said that Mike was " a hell of a bass fisherman". Michael also enjoyed hunting with my father. They hunted in Wyoming for deer and antelope. Each antelope that Michael got was turned into summer sausage and pepperoni sticks which were enjoyed throughout the year.

My family has been involved with Cheyenne Frontier Days for over 40 years.When Michael became a part of my family he also became a part of FrontierDays. He began running a video camera for the chuckwagon races. Very soon he was operating a spotlight for the night show entertainers. He provided light on such performers as Garth Brooks, Alan Jackson, Brooks and Dunn, George Strait and Clint Black. Spending the last of July in Cheyenne became a priority for Michael. Each January as soon as he got his new day planner he marked that time as vacation. After his death another committee member created a memorial plaque which now hangs on the pressbox wall behind the spotlight Michael ran.

Thank you for getting to know Michael

I would like to thank the following people for helping me cope with the loss of my husband and for helping make this memorial a reality.

My parents Bob and Donna Goss

My Grandmother Wilma Hirst

My online sisters Rhonda Thompson and Amy Dewit

Judy Divers for creating GROWW

All of my GROWW Family for being online whenever I need them

Please visit Amy's inpirational poetry page

Please sign my guestbook View My Guestbook