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I saw what an incredible father Michael was to all of his 5 girls, what a loving and caring husband (and friend) he was to Cheryl, and what a joy he was to my parents as their son. He loved my Mom and Dad so much and I believe the unconditional love and guidance they gave him contributed to the beautiful, loving and caring man he became. Recently, I have also witnessed just a small part of how he has touched his friend’s lives, which includes his co-workers (his work family). Michael ends up being your friend even if you have only met him once. He has touched people and made friends all over the world through his many travels. Many or most of you may be as much in awe as I am over his professional accomplishments as an Astronomer. But I believe that his greatest accomplishment was the loving special person he was and continues to be. Ultimately, I believe Michael would think his greatest accomplishment is being a father to ALL of his girls and I too believe that this is his most special achievement. We owe Cheryl so much gratitude to loving Michael so much that she was willing to have more children. Cheryl gave Michael the greatest gift she could give him, Andria and Abby. Although I was always so interested in learning more about his professional work in Chile when we talked on the phone, the majority of what we talked about was the special things that Andria and Abby did that day, and the special stories of how they were doing in school and at home. He often spoke of the fun day and overnight trips that he, Cheryl and the girls would take to beautiful places near where they lived, as well as the new places that they were interested in visiting and exploring together as a family. He also spoke to me about how proud he was of his older girls Misty, Memoree, and Mandy, especially these past several years. I know that Memoree and Dominic’s wedding meant so much to him to be able to give his daughter away to such a wonderful man. He was so proud of Memoree’s accomplishments with family, work, and church. He was so proud of Misty for being a mommy of two and was so happy to know that she was going back to school. Misty, I remember that day that Michael, you and I went to UNM to get you started with school. He was so eager to help you with this process. That was a very special day for all of us. Michael was so proud of Mandy for her courage to move away from home to a new city and state, to come to Chile to visit them on her own, and for having the gift to take care of children in her work. Mandy, Michael saw you so happy the last day we spent with him, and that meant so much to him. He so loved and loves all of his sweet grandchildren too. Michael was so incredibly humble about his accomplishments as an Astronomer. He belived that my job was equally important as his, and that every job is on the same level, just different. He was NEVER concerned with status and wanted everyone to call him Michael, not Dr. Ledlow. He is the most wonderful brother and special person I know and he exudes all of the qualities such as loving (true love and respect for people, animals, and nature), gentleness, patience, adventuress, and so many more, that I will always aspire to be. He taught me and all of us so much. What is keeping me going and perhaps all of his family and friends going is to live how Michael would want us to live, the way he lived, loving each other each and every day in happiness. As Memoree, his daughter mentioned, “He glued our family together”. I know that he has also glued Cheryl’s family and our family together and I think he would want us to keep this special relationship going and continue to support and love each other. As Michael and I often spoke about space and the universe, he and I both believed that it was possible that there was more than one universe. So as I always say to him, “Miki, I will always love and miss you more than all the universes!”.
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