MICHAEL DENNIS RAP

TEMPE - Michael Dennis Rap died in hospice at 3:01pm on Sunday, November 24, 2024. He was 69.

Born on January 28, 1955, Michael was the eldest child of Oren and Ila Rap of Lincoln, Nebraska. He completed high school in Bozeman, Montana, in 1973, where he served as student body president and was selected to represent the state at Boys Nation. Michael then attended Northwest Nazarene College in Nampa, Idaho, studying history and French on a full academic President's Scholarship. He was active in student government throughout his undergraduate years and was Valedictorian of the Class of 1977. While at NNC, he formed a close-knit circle of lifelong friends and met Kelley Krauss, now his wife of 48 years.

Upon graduation from NNC, Michael pursued graduate study in American intellectual history, receiving a Master's degree from the University of Minnesota in 1979. Michael and Kelley then relocated to Portland, Oregon, where Michael took up a position at Intel Corporation. Michael continued his graduate education while working full-time at Intel, first earning an MBA from the University of Portland in 1983 and a JD from Lewis & Clark Law School in 1991.

After being admitted to the bar, Michael accepted the challenge of moving his family - including his grade school-aged children, daughter Emily and son Evan - to Arizona so that he could serve as a senior in-house attorney for Intel. He specialized in structuring and negotiating complex deals involving intellectual property, and mergers and acquisitions. Michael's multifaceted career at Intel spanned three decades.

Following his retirement from Intel, Michael and Kelley split their time between their homes in Arizona (first in Tempe, later in Scottsdale) and Oregon (in the Pearl District in Portland). Never one to sit idle, Michael subsequently co-founded a tech start-up venture to which he dedicated much of his time and energy until retiring for a second time at age 64.

Throughout his life, Michael maintained his commitment to learning and ideas through his philanthropic and volunteer work. He served on the Northwest Nazarene University Foundation Board, the Lewis & Clark College Law School Board of Visitors, and the board of Arizona Academic Decathlon. He was a member of Sunset Presbyterian Church in Portland, Oregon; attended Grace Community Church in Tempe, Arizona; and later joined Mountain View Presbyterian Church in Scottsdale, Arizona.

Michael traveled widely; not only did business take him to countries across the globe, he planned memorable family vacations abroad to share his love of foreign adventure with his children. He was also something of a fitness fanatic, completing about a dozen half-marathons.

After he received a devastating diagnosis of Primary Progressive Aphasia, which subsequently developed into Fronto-Temporal Dementia, Michael and Kelley moved to the Friendship Village Continuing Care Retirement Community in Tempe, Arizona, in 2021. Michael enjoyed his daily morning walks through the beautiful grounds - always with treats in his pockets ready to distribute to the local canine residents - and his regular visits to the community gym to lift weights.

Michael is survived by his wife Kelley; his children Emily (Kent) and Evan (Ashley); his three siblings Theresa, Kathy, and Tim; and his father Oren. He will be greatly missed.

A memorial service is scheduled for 11:00 am on January 28, 2025, at Mountain View Presbyterian Church in Scottsdale, Arizona. Please join us to celebrate Michael's life on what would have been his 70th birthday.