Michael W. DeBilzan was born October 27, 1956. Michael used to say, “it may take me a little longer, but I’ll get it.” And he did. He graduated from Bismarck High School and continued to vocational school. Michael always worked. He was a reliable, steady employee working mostly as a dishwasher and a cleaner. Skills, his mother will tell you, he didn’t necessarily employ at home.
Michael spent all but the last two years of his life in Bismarck, North Dakota. He loved the wide-open space, the prairie, and the Missouri River. He didn’t love the snow and cold quite so much but was a pretty reliable shoveler nonetheless. He always wanted to “go west”. But instead, he moved east to Ohio with his mother to be closer to his favorite (okay, only) sister.
Michael was good-natured. As a small child, his aunts used to dress him up and put dippity-doo in his hair – we are convinced that’s why he went bald early. His co-workers at Wal-Mart, where he worked for 14 years, knew they could count on him. Later, at Northfield Nursing and Rehabilitation Center, the staff and residents recognized him as a special friend. When people took the time to know Michael, his gentle spirit and kind heart won them over.
He wasn’t a wordsmith by any stretch of the imagination, but he had a ready smile, an amiable personality, and a humble chuckle.
Mike is preceded in death by his father, Lawrence DeBilzan and his dear uncle, Merwin Hoyt. We imagine them standing around a grill catching up and giving each other barbeque tips.
Surviving Michael are his mother, Elaine DeBilzan, with whom he lived most of his life; brothers, Joseph DeBilzan (Ruth) and John DeBilzan (Nancy); sister, Tracey Mackay (David); nephews and nieces, Ross DeBilzan, Bailey DeBilzan, Cole Mackay (Felicia), Jordan Mackay, Kendall Mackay, Lindi DeBilzan, and Samuel DeBilzan; great-niece and cutest kid, Adeline Mackay; the dippity-doo Aunts: Bonnie Newman, Yvonne Hoyt, and Terri Reavley; and many wonderful cousins.
The family would like to thank the amazing staff at Northfield Nursing and Rehabilitation Center and Michael’s caregivers from Traditions Health.
To honor our brother, we ask you to notice the people who are easiest to ignore; to pay attention to the people who do the work that most people don’t know needs to be done; and to be kind just because you can.
You will forever be in our hearts Mike.
Arrangements by Johnson-Romito Funeral Home, Hudson, OH. www.johnsonromito.com
