Michael Ryan Mullins

1981 - 2014

"I Can't Know."
Mar. 7, 1981 ~ Sept. 26, 2014
Watching our gorgeous first born son's intellect and talents grow and blossom gave his parents, Chad and Susan (Harmston) Mullins, inordinate pleasure. Throughout his youth he swam like a dolphin, ran like a gazelle and excelled at sports and all academic endeavors. He wanted to be perfect in a less than perfect world.
By nature Michael was competitive, but could also be extremely kind and loving. He befriended others that needed a friend. He was embarrassed by his sensitive, emotional side, but these qualities made him special. There was nothing more heart -warming than a kiss, a hug or an "I love you" from Michael. His Ben Affleck appearance and wide smile attracted all. His conversations were full of sarcastic wit. He hungered to know other cultures and the "why's" and "how's" of the world. This unquenchable thirst for knowledge thrust him into the unpredictable and frustrating field of scientific research.
Michael was born in Salt Lake City, Utah and provided constant teasing and big-brotherly advice to his younger brother Matthew until he moved to Eugene, Oregon to attend the University of Oregon. He studied and received his B.S. degree in biology while watching the Oregon ducks dominate the Pack 10. During his studies in Eugene, Oregon, Michael pledged Sigma Chi like his Father, and also followed in the footsteps of his maternal grandfather when he became a Phi Beta Kappa. Upon graduation he received the Centurion Award given to the top 100 graduates for outstanding academic and civic achievement.
After graduation, he took a hiatus to work at BackCountry.com and acquire more outdoor gear. He always bought the latest and greatest gear for his outdoor adventures. Chad and Matt were glad to have his cast-offs. When he was appropriately equipped and unstressed from the rigors of life, he began research at the Huntsman Cancer Institute in the lab of Dr. Phil Bernard where he mapped markers to develop a test for the detection of differentiated breast cancers. This exploration led him to the graduate program at the University of Colorado in Denver where he spent two years. He received the award for the most outstanding graduate student before going to Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio for further study.
Cleveland brought him new adventures and challenges. The Cleveland winters were fraught with danger as he commuted on his bicycle with studded tires. He was proud of his "carless life style" and low carbon foot-print. He frequently remarked that he was getting through grad school "one bike ride at a time." One of the highlights of his residency in Cleveland was his 700 mile bike ride around Lake Erie. He wrote four newspaper installments about his odyssey for The Great Lakes Courier which you can access online (http://greatlakescourier.com/read/2013/07/02/a-lake-erie-odyssey-part-i).
As Michael evolved, he wouldn't ingest red meat and called himself a "poultritarian," quite a change from his steak and potato days. He was deeply involved in the world's issues and fought the construction of a Cleveland highway which would further divide the city into rich and poor areas and restrict bike access.
He gave of his knowledge and resources freely and became the bike mechanic for his friends and the small children in his neighborhood. On his own initiative he created and taught an AP science class at the local inner city high school. His students loved him and he would have made an excellent future professor. No one could debate nor explain concepts in a more cogent manner.
Michael, always determined, wrote his own story and lived his own tale of highs and lows. Like his namesake, Michael The Archangel, he valiantly tried to smite his bipolar demons and became a martyr to the disease.
As a small child, whenever Michael didn't know the answer to a question, he would answer with a reflective, "I Can't Know!" On Michael's white board in the Lab he had written: "Graduate. Move Forward With Life." Now we must stoically move forward in life without you, with an unanswerable, "I Can't Know."
Join us for a memorial service at 3:00 pm on Sunday, October 12 at the First Unitarian Church, 569 South 1300 East. No flowers -- Chad is allergic. Donations are encouraged to www.BikeUtah.org/donations, your favorite charity, or volunteer your talents to make this world a better place. And, please remember to pass cyclists with at least a 3 foot safety margin, it's the law; and be sure to give cyclists a five finger salute.