Michael Connolly Mayerl, 81, of Bonduel, passed away on Saturday, Sept. 18, 2021, in Shawano. Born in Shawano on Aug. 7, 1940, Michael is the son of the late Bert and Margaret (Connolly) Mayerl. He graduated from Sacred Heart grade school and from Shawano High School with the class that won back-to-back state basketball championships, where Mike served as team manager. He went on to earn a bachelor’s degree from Oshkosh State University in both math and physics.
After college, Mike joined the United States Navy and attended naval officer training. He completed two tours off the coast of Vietnam on board the guided missile cruiser USS Belknap as an air traffic controller. He attained the rank of lieutenant before receiving his honorable discharge from the military.
On Aug. 21, 1971, Mike was united in marriage to Mary Schardt at Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Shawano. Mike and Mary raised two sons, Jason and Jeff, and recently celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary. Mike worked as an electrical engineer for various companies throughout his career including ITT Kellogg, GE medical division and Abbott Labs. As a system engineer while at GE, he headed the team that installed the first CT scanner in Milwaukee at Mount Sinai Hospital.
While working for Abbott Labs, he was software engineering manager for the Immunoassay systems. He has a patent in his name for a multi-channel indicating apparatus with worldwide applications for detecting traffic movement. After retirement, Mike and Mary spent the winters in Cape Coral, Florida, where they made many wonderful friends. They moved back to Wisconsin full time to be closer to their grandkids.
In his free time, Mike loved deer hunting with his long-time hunting friends as well as fishing, gardening, amateur radio and gun collecting and repair. He was a lifelong National Rifle Association member and served as secretary for the Shawano Gun Club. He loved spending time with his family and friends. Mary recalls that, in 50 years, he never berated or talked down to another person. He will be remembered for his intelligence, quick wit and ability to fix anything. His father-in-law once stated, “If Mike can’t fix it, I have to throw it out.”
Mike leaves behind his wife, Mary; two sons, Jason (significant other Trisha) Mayerl and Jeff (Lani) Mayerl; two grandchildren, Hailey and Hudson; Shannon Mayerl; and siblings, Tom Mayerl, Pat Mayerl and Maureen Biarnesen. He is further survived by nieces, nephews, other relatives and friends.
He was preceded in death by his parents, an infant brother, and his beloved dogs, Dixie and Bella.
A Funeral Mass for Mike was held at Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Shawano on Thursday, Sept. 23, 2021, with the Rev. Scott Valentyn officiating. Burial was in Sacred Heart Catholic Cemetery with military honors conducted by the Shawano American Legion Post 117.
In lieu of flowers, memorials may be directed to the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s research (www.michaeljfox.org/donate) or the Underdog Pet Rescue of Wisconsin (www.underdogpetrescue.org/donate)
Mike’s family would like to extend a special thank you to the staff of Shawano Health Services for their kind and compassionate care.
www.swedbergfuneralhome.com
Michael C. Mayerl
