Michael Joseph Malecki

1951 - 2021

Michael Joseph Malecki died needlessly from Covid-19 on Monday, November 15, 2021, at the age of 70. He did not believe in masks, tests, vaccines, or the virus; he was ill for less than 48 hours. Born in Schenectady, NY, on March 26, 1951, Mike was a son of Joseph and Jessie Malecki. He was a member of the last graduating class of St. Columba's High School (1969), and attended SUNY Albany (now UAlbany), Maria College, and Hudson Valley Community College. While living in the Capital Region, Mike worked as a bartender in Latham and Albany, most notably at the Moon Restaurant, with Nick Cavaleri. In the late 1970s, Mike moved to California, where he continued working in the hospitality business. By the mid-1980s, Mike had relocated to the Dallas, Texas area. He most consistently worked in sales, selling investment shares in oil and gas exploration and drilling. As he had since the 1970s, he also traded commodities and commodity options, which he continued to do up to his death. Throughout his life, Mike was interested in weight-lifting, souped-up cars, and smooth cigars. A brief marriage in the 1970s ended in divorce. He liked to say he lived his life according to his favorite songs, "My Way" and "I Gotta Be Me." He was certainly him, and it probably killed him. Mike was predeceased by his parents, many aunts and uncles, several cousins, his brother-in-law John L. Polnak, and at least one favorite dog. He's survived by his sister, Maryanne Malecki (Schenectady), and brother, John Malecki (Christiane Wittek; NYC). He also leaves behind his life-long friends from his youth spent in the Stockade section of Schenectady, and hanging out in Riverside Park. Mike didn't like going to funerals or any services related to death, and attended very few. Out of respect for his feelings, it does not seem appropriate to make him start going now. Instead, the family will sponsor a memorial bench in the park near his childhood home, where Mike liked to walk along the Mohawk River whenever he visited his parents. Donations in Mike's name can be made to either National Foundation for Infectious Diseases (https://www.nfid.org/), 7201 Wisconsin Avenue - Suite 750; Bethesda, MD 20814, or Doctors Without Borders (https://www.doctorswithoutborders.org/), USA Headquarters, 40 Rector St., 16th Floor; New York, NY 10006.