My brother Mike passed last night. He was only 62.
We were at his side when he left us.
It hurts. My parents are hurting. His family is hurting.
He leaves a daughter Rachel, her husband Andy, and three grandchildren: Dante, Lucas, and Ace.
Mike is survived by his parents Alicia and Tony Campos, sisters Sylvia Lafuente and Aida Garza and her husband Bobby, and me, plus many nephews and nieces who loved him dearly. Everybody loved Uncle Mike.
Mike had many great friends. Most were lifelong buddies. Many of them called him “Camp.”
Mike was a caring father and grandfather.
He taught Dante how to be a good baseball player, taught him to love the game, and he was proud of that. He was day care for Dante and Lucas and there were many times when Dante crawled around the office here while Rachel was at work. I remember when Mike would be working on a deadline for a project here and I would have to change Dante’s diaper to let Mike finish up.
He was family first. He loved Christmases and other family gatherings. He loved to reminisce about growing up in Baytown. He took pride in the accomplishments of family members.
He was passionate and opinionated about politics and current events. Mike was talking about a “vast right-wing conspiracy” six months before Hillary brought it up. He never missed casting a vote. He was a proud Democrat. He could smell out a BSer a mile away.
He was really proud when he was elected as a Gore national delegate back in 2000. He was the third in our family to get to go to the Democratic National Convention as a delegate.
Mike was also a musician. In high school he was drummer and singer in a band and he let me be one of the equipment managers. I was a roadie before I ever heard of a roadie. The band played gigs in Baytown, Anahuac, Channelview and other faraway places. In later years he played guitar in band that did weddings, parties, local clubs, and other gatherings.
Mike was a film buff and read books on movies and cinema history. His favorite actor was Marlon Brando and of course his favorite movie was “The Godfather.” He could recite just about every line from that classic.
He worked with me for a number of years behind the scenes and helped design and produce the materials to help our clients achieve their goals.
Nine years ago Mike suggested that I should start posting on our website. I was very reluctant. He convinced me that posting might increase web traffic and he was the one who suggested the name “Daily Commentary.”
Mike was born on March 2 – Texas Independence Day – so there was never any forgetting of his birthday.
I could go on and on about Mike and I will in days to come.
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