Michael Fitts Obituary
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October 10, 1956-January 30, 2025
Michael G. Fitts, 68, of Charlotte, passed away the morning of January 30th. Michael was a loving husband to his wife of 36 years, Carol Fitts. He was a loving father, grandfather, great grandfather and cherished friend and coworker to all who knew him.
Michael was born in Royal Oak, Michigan in 1956, graduated from Dansville High School, and served eight years in the United States Marine Corps and was stationed in Washington D.C, Southeast Asia, and California. After returning to Michigan in the early 1980s, Michael pursued his passion for various musical genres, performing for nearly four decades as a guitarist and vocalist with multiple bands at night clubs, theaters, and festivals throughout Michigan. As a culmination of his musical pursuits, Michael performed with bands selected as top performers at Blues festivals in Lansing and Kalamazoo, leading to multiple appearances at the International Blues Challenge in Memphis, Tennessee. From 2017 to the present, Michael served as a bus driver and trainer for Dean Transportation in Charlotte and Battle Creek, earning multiple outstanding performance awards while developing a passion for both training drivers and supporting special needs students.
Michael was an upbeat and fun-loving man known for his unique sense of humor. He was beloved by his coworkers for having an open ear while constantly mentoring and guiding younger drivers. Toward the end of his life, Michael reignited his passion for motorcycle riding, frequently completing group rides on weekends with coworkers and close friends to view "prerequisite" bodies of water throughout Michigan and Indiana.
Michael was preceded in death by his mother, Nancy, father William, brother Ward, father and mother-in-law, Rual and Nancy Williams, and brother-in-law, Mark Williams. He is survived by his wife Carol of Charlotte, son Joe (Janessa) of Charlotte, daughter Kate of Traverse City, daughter Niki of Charlotte, brother David of Owosso, brother Steven (Jennifer) of Fairborn, Ohio, brother James (Shelley) of Grass Lake, four grandchildren, Anthony, Angel, Jillian, and Chase, two great-grandchildren, and many nieces, nephews, great-nieces, and great-nephews.
A Celebration of Life will be held on Saturday, April 12, 2025, 1:30-5:00 PM at the VFW Post 2406, 695 Lansing Road, Charlotte Michigan 48813. In lieu of sending flowers, the family requests donations be made in Michael's memory to either St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, 501 (https://www.stjude.org/donate/donate-to-st-jude.html?express=0&sc_icid=impactgiving-df-btn&amount=30&frequency_selected=1) or The Special Olympics Michigan, 160 68th Street SW, Grand Rapids, Michigan 49548 (https://support.specialolympics.org/a/michigan?ms=IDMP_DB&utm_source=donatebtn&utm_medium=web&utm_campaign=IDMP). Arrangements by the Holihan-Atkin-Barclay Funeral Home, Grand Ledge. Share your memories and condolences online at www.holihanatkin.com
To plant trees in memory, please visit the Sympathy Store.
4 Entries
David Fitts
March 1, 2025
It all still feels so unreal. So sudden. I was so proud of your work at Dean. You found your place in life, and touch the kids lives you bused. I wish you had your place there sooner. Rest in Peace brother.
Becki
February 7, 2025
Mike told me, during training, that I was the first woman trainee that he could actually talk to about the components of the bus where he felt I was engaging and knowledgeable. Oftentimes asking questions that made him pause and think through before answering. I absolutely adored him and would purposely bring a variety of snacks (and cough drops) to training days to share with him. He will forever be in my memories as he's left a permanent footprint on my heart and in my life.
Emily Davidoff
February 2, 2025
There's no where to start with a man like Michael. He taught me how to become a bus driver and a better driver overall. The one thing I will always remember is his stories. He told us once about a student from the post edition (Battle Creek) that always looked like she was mad at the world. She never said anything. One day some boys were picking on a child that was autistic on the bus and well that girl just handled business. Michael had this way of finding the reason behind the action.
He saw potential in everyone and wouldn't let you give up no matter what.
During my extra week of training because I failed my alley dock the week before. We had a really bad snow storm that closed school last year for the majority of the area. Well we went out to the range with a bunch of new students and found that they had plowed all the snow up in our practice area. Micheal told me to get out of the driver's seat. Got everything adjust for him and told us how the C2 can walk through two feet of snow. Then he backed the bus up and charged for that snow bank Jojo and I were cheering (you could tell who the country girls were lol) while all the others were hanging on for dear life!
When Michael would come down to Battle Creek it was usually break time for the driver's. I had a mid day route. He would come in and catch me eating something whether it was cheese it's or chips. And just like a dad he'd snitch some. I got so use to it I just held up the bag and shared.
I learned not to tell Michael my darkest driving fear. Why? Because he will make you face it your first time out! I hated driving freeways because my first accident when I was 20 happened on one. Well he told me to take a left out of the Charlotte lot. Then take a right on Lansing Road, and then a right on to the freeway. I was shaking but Michael was right there with me the whole time.
Michael pulled me aside last summer and asked why I hadn't applied for the sub position. Um, because I didn't read the news letter... He told me that he thought I would be one of the best candidates for it. I didn't get the first one, but I did get the second one.
After learning of Michael's sudden death I still had a trip to drive that night. I did my pretrip. Checked my mirrors and began to back up. Checked my center mirror and there was Micheal smiling back at me just for a fleeting moment. I know he's proud of every driver he's trained and I know he's especially proud of me.
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406 N Bridge St, Grand Ledge, MI 48837
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