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Michael Splane Obituary
January 15, 1954 - August 10, 2021
Resident of San Jose
Mike Splane passed away at the age of 67. His battle with medical issues in recent years showed his courage in facing life challenges with a smile.
He was born in Flint, MI, the youngest of five. His parents were Donald Splane and Eleanor A. (McInnes) Splane.
Mike began playing self-taught chess at age 6 and it remained his favorite pastime until the day of his death, at which time he was a "Life Master". He regularly played in tournaments, and played and taught in chess clubs wherever he lived. He enjoyed the game whether he won, drew or lost, and tried to learn something from every game.
After receiving his MBA at SJSU, he was recruited to teach for the College of Business, teaching "Business Productivity Tools" for over 20 years. He cared deeply about his students and was always very invested in their professional and personal success.
Mike was a walking wealth of trivia and knowledge, and loved the show Jeopardy. He was a huge fan of Michigan State NCAA and Golden Warriors NBA and followed almost all games.
He was loved by his family and all who surrounded him. He was invariably kind to others. Mike was preceded in death by his parents, and sister, Jean A. Splane. His remaining family include siblings Beverly Splane, Jon Splane and Sue Splane, and niece Sarah Younger.
In lieu of flowers, please donate to the Mike Splane Memorial Scholarship fund at San Jose State University.
View the online memorial for Michael "Mike" Splane
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Memories and Condolences
for Michael Splane
Sponsored by San Jose Mercury News.
1 Entry
Jay Dhillon
June 14, 2025
I'm 10 years out of SJSU now, but around 2013 Prof. Splane was my business productivity tools teacher, and I was just thinking of him now that I'm in a role that Excel heavy. I just discovered of his passing and am deeply saddened by this news. Prof. Splane was utterly fantastic. He had an incredible way of explaining and demystifying complex topics. He stuck with me all these years. You could just tell he was an immensely intelligent person. He was always very kind and understanding as well. He was very memorable. My condolences to his family, he was a wonderful person.
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