Birth date: Sep 18, 1951 Death date: Oct 27, 2024
To the Darnall family,
Mike and I were High School classmates our senior year. We were in the chorus together. Mike was always a great and wonderful guy and we will all miss him very much. God Bless you all.
Bonnie (Limer) Iutzi
To the Darnall family,
I am deeply sorry to hear about Mike's passing and want to extend my sincere sympathy and prayers for peace of heart. I first got to know Mike as a shy, small-town 15-year-old when I was chosen to sing with The Young Folk for the Heart of Illinois Fair in 1968. Little did I know that this would become one of the most influential experiences of my life over the summers of '68, '69, and '70. Getting to know so many talented "kids" from all over, and mixing our personalities to blend as one unit to perform on the Grandstand three times a day, was a forever bonding experience. Because Mike was tall and I was short, we were at opposite ends of the stage, and I always looked "up" to him. He and Brad Peine seemed to always be having a great time back there! I wish I could recall more memories but I do remember that Mike was fun, kind, and well-liked by all of us girls!!!
It has been one week since I received an email from Brad about Mike’s passing and a link to this tribute page. Within that week, I pulled out my Young Folk binder and tried to contact a few other members from the '68/'69 list to pass along this link. It has been wonderful to catch up with Brad and hear him speak so fondly of Mike. Making the connection between Mike and an old hometown friend, Doug Baumann, has truly highlighted how Mike’s generous personality has touched others. I was thrilled to hear from Doug and know he is with you all.
In all, I know Mike would be so pleased that his passing has brought a renewed sense of gratitude for our common thread of Young Folk, small-town life, and rekindled old friendships.
May you find comfort in the cherished memories and the love that surrounds you during this difficult time. Mike's legacy will forever live on in the hearts of those who knew him.
With heartfelt condolences,
Froncie Condit Clubb
To the Darnall Family.
My deepest sympathy for your loss. I knew Mike from 6th grade, when I moved to Minier from Florida. Many great memories! Many of which I can’t share, but I assure you that we tore it up in High School while having a great time. Mike and I were always the top scorers on our basketball team from 6 th grade through our senior years in High School. Those were great memories along with all of our classmates. I regret, due to distance, that we only saw each other twice in the past 55 years, but the times we shared together were unforgettable! May you rest in Peace, Mike, and be with God and Katie. Peace to your family!
Sincerely,
Dr. Jeff L Brenneman
To Karon,Jim and the Darnall family
It’s never easy to say goodbye to someone you care and love. It’s hard for me to express my grief today saying goodbye to my dear friend. Please know you have family and friends here for you, sending prayers and peace for comfort.
We don’t have Mike here with us physically but he’ll always have this special place in my heart. I have such great memories of how our friendship grew over the years. He truly was such a blessing to me.
I will miss his visits when he came home, spending time just catching up. Always a trip to SteaknShake for a steak burger and an orange freeze. We would sit there and laugh like 2 goofy high school friends. I will miss talking about basketball, and who won the game. I remember one early morning phone call about 3 AM, asking me if I remembered the basketball game against San Jose that we lost our senior year . I had no idea. I was a cheerleader so was at all the games, and had a front row seat for sure. He told me the name of the San Jose player that was really good that night. I didn’t recognize the name but asked , was he cute? Seemed like a reasonable question to me, but he responded pretty quickly, I refuse to answer that .
My last memory is when Darby and I visited him in Honolulu, and he was our tour guide for that week, I have some great pictures from that visit. And on that visit also, got to ride in Mikes MG convertible around the island, what great time. Mike was such a gentlemen, genuine, kind, fun to be with and share stories.
We both share the diagnosis of cancer and had several discussions on doctors, lab results, and treatments and questions to ask the doctors.
In closing, Karon, please know we have adopted you as a Stanford-Minier classmate. I love you, hope we can continue our friendship, look forward to more phone conversations and you can call me at anytime
God Bless You Always- Mary Ann Kinsell
Mike is my big brother. My memory would be his wedding I was one of his brides maid. It was a beautiful. I am his younger sister.Also when he was in the group called The Young Folks.
