Dad. Pa. Dumpa. Flash. Mike…how do you simply write a few paragraphs to summarize and honor such a great person? A person who you could sit with and talk for hours about the meaning of it all or the silliest shit you could come up with…and he’d make you feel better, smarter, valued, and loved. Whether you were a stranger he’d just met because you were delivering something, an unsuspecting Jehovah’s witness, or a Wal-Mart night stocker, before you knew it, you were 3 hours deep in the best conversation you’d had all year.

Here goes…Michael Harold McCall was born November 22, 1948 in Cudahy, WI to Charles William and Carolyn Elizabeth (Buerrose) McCall. He had an older brother Charles David (Buddy) and Nancy Sharon who loved their baby brother so. Shortly thereafter, they moved to a hobby farm south of Oak Creek, WI where they farmed their 12 acres, raised pigs, cows, chickens, ducks, etc. His dad pulled more than double duty as a welder at Bucyrus-Erie and farmer, despite his wooden leg, and even scrapped cars, welded neighborhood projects and then learned to fix shoes on the side. Carolyn came from a nicer neighborhood and taught dad to read at age 3 and instilled a love of art, poetry, and classical music in him at a young age. He played in the barns and with the animals and enjoyed his friendship with Ken VanDoren.

His sister Nancy suffered from horrible ear infections as a child and that developed into encephalitis which left her mentally disabled. Further tragedy struck the family when dad was only 13 when his father passed at 49 from a heart attack. Buddy was out making his life which left Grandma, Nancy, and Dad mostly on their own. Shortly thereafter, the Vietnam draft was threatening to take him for cannon fodder in a losing war, so Dad flipped the big middle finger to the machine and filed for…and eventually got awarded his C.O. (Conscientious Objector) status, which required him to move a minimum of 200 miles from home and work in the medical field. He got hired as an orderly at Luther Hospital in Eau Claire. Not being known for respecting authority figures, he shortly thereafter lost his position as an orderly and went on a desperate search for anywhere that would hire a C.O. (aka no good long-haired hippy…his words, not mine). He heard rumor that there was a county ran farm mental hospital in Marshfield, called Norwood, that would hire C.O.s. He called Norwood and spoke with Mike (Bonnie) Christner, who later became a good friend, and he was soon hired and the pathway to Marshfield was set. In 1970, Dad moved to Marshfield, started at Norwood, and met his Angel, Aggie (Slifierczyk). They shared a California burger at Severt’s restaurant (with a little help from a co-worker, Louetta Hartle, for spotting a $20) and were in a love that carried them through all these years.

Dad had always hoped for a little girl, and in 1975, was blessed with Christine Marie, who was a best friend and advocate for him throughout his life, especially later in life when health issues arose. Dad job hopped a bit and in 1978 and through prayer and a promise to God to always give to charity, landed at Weyerhauser, which was a place you planned to stay back then. In May of 1979, Dad and Mom married at St. John’s Catholic Church. (He finally did “something about that name” according to Dr. Silberman). In 1979, Matthew David was born and life became a little better, except they needed to get out of renting a duplex with young, partying neighbors making it even worse. In the middle of winter, we moved into the little house on east 3rd Street. I remember sleeping on a mattress in the living room and the house stinking of fresh carpet glue. It was far from a great house, but it was definitely home. Offset work schedules, dogs, kids, and trips to Milwaukee were the norm. In 1984, youngest son, Jared, came along and our little family was complete.

Dad was a great dad. Not just to us, but to the neighborhood kids and even foster kids. No matter how broke they were, there was always a pot of mac n cheese or a fried egg sandwich for anyone hungry. So many of our friends knew him as Dad and there was always a place at the table for them, an extra spot in the car for a trip to Milwaukee, or even a trip to McDonald’s.

We moved his mother and sister in with us when their life on their own became too difficult. It broke his heart to sell the family farm. He cared for Grandma longer than anyone else would have until unfortunately she had to be placed into a nursing home. Dad and Mom gave his sister Nancy a home for many years thereafter and did their very best to include her in their lives.

Dad always hoped for a big family. As time went on, he was blessed with 9 grandchildren who he absolutely adored. Kaden, Halle (Hunter), Elliana, Landen, Mallory, Jace, Sean, Megan, Jordan, Mary, and Kaiden.

Dad had such an immense curiosity for the unknown. The possibility of other life. The wonder of the cosmos. Anomalies of the world. He studied everything he could find about bible stories, the teachings of the old, the human mind, poetry, music, science, government “conspiracies” (most of which are true), the creation of man, the teachings of Zecharia Sitchin about the Anunnaki and Nibiru, remote viewing, fluoride, vaccines, you name it….and he would have loved to pour you a cup of fresh coffee and tell you all about it. He shared his love of all of these subjects with us all, and although we brushed a lot of these conversations off, I’d give anything to be sharing this kitchen table with him one last time to hear all about them.

He loved Bob Dylan. Jim Croce. Charlie Rich. Dan Fogelberg. John Denver. Gordon Lightfoot. Mozart. Beethoven. Chopin. Acoustic guitar. Piano. Sad songs. He always said “there is a beauty in sadness.” Shakespeare. Robert Frost. Music. Poetry. Theater. Things that make you feel. Jeeps. Old cars like flathead Fords, Buick straight 8s, Triumph and BSA motorcycles…things that make you feel alive. He absolutely loved life and all of the people he had in it. If it was up to him, he would have lived forever…and I truly hope he is somewhere.

He believed in God very deeply and prayed often. He didn’t follow any religion to a tee but knew that faith was very important. He often wondered aloud about reincarnation and hoped he could come back…not just back, but hoped he would come back to us, because he knew how bad he would miss us all. Ditto, Pa.

Dad faced his share of challenges. He endured open heart surgery, suffered a stroke that turned into a brain bleed, a massive bleeding ulcer, and cancer. He showed the utmost courage and pushed through all of this. He never lost hope and worked on everything he could to make himself better right until the end. He still did his pushups and sit-ups until the day he went into the hospital the last time, even with multiple breaks in his back.

He lived long enough to lose his father Charles, mother Carolyn, sister Nancy, Brother Charles (Buddy), brother-in-law Stan, sister-in-law Mary Ann, mother-in-law Mary, Father-in-law Jan, niece little Lynn, and son-in-law Steve. Left to bear the burden are his wife Aggie, daughter Christine (Kurtis), Matthew (Naomi), Jared (Chelsea), nephews Mark, Charlie, Rick, Cary, nieces Sarah and Laura, and grandchildren Kaden, Halle, Elliana, Landen, Mallory, Megan, Jordan, Mary, and Kaiden. And he would always make sure we all always had enough money in our pocket for a coke.

So here I sit at 1am, at his spot at his kitchen table, trying to find the words. The words to summarize the man that taught me to ride a bike, drive a nail, to wonder, to suspect, to question, to love. The voice of my biggest fan and my conscience. The man who faced so much in his life and showed strength, endurance, and grace. These words aren’t nearly enough to describe him, and I just hope he knows how much he will be missed. I keep half-expecting him to come walking from the back room to check on me and offer me a cup of coffee. Thank you for being you, Dad. You’re the best and I’m so proud to have had you as my father. But, f***….I am going to miss you.

Visitation will be held at Rembs Funeral Home, 300 S. Oak Ave. Marshfield, WI on Friday, October 2nd, 2026 from 4-7pm and (tentative) funeral and interment will be at Brooklawn Memory Gardens, 8883 WI-80, Marshfield, WI on Saturday, October 3rd at 1 pm.