Michael A. Heyman

Michael Alex Heyman, age 79, of Newark, Delaware passed away on Wednesday, September 3, 2025 in the Accentcare Hospice Suite at Christiana Care Hospital in Newark, Delaware.

Born in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania on July 22, 1946 to Harry and Martha Heyman (née Gorwitz), he was the youngest of three children. He graduated from Lakewood High School in N.J., Class of 1964, and received his Bachelor of Arts Degree from Ohio State University after having made the Dean's list.

Inspired by his father, who was awarded the Silver Star for sinking the first German U-Boat in WWII and regaled him with naval stories of war on the high seas, Mike and his brother Jack began sailing on ships as a member of the National Maritime Union in the early 1970's. After several years, he studied for his officer's license and achieved the rank of Second Mate in the International Organization of Masters, Mates, and Pilots Union, responsible for navigating freighters around the globe. He was profoundly influenced by his time living on the islands of Bali & Kho Phangan, Thailand in the late 70's, where he built lifelong friendships in the community.

Mike was a sensitive soul, who navigated his way with a strong moral compass. He was deeply affected by the anti-establishment counter-culture of the 1960's and the horrors of the Vietnam War. On a ship in Vietnam when Saigon fell, the sight of desperate people climbing up the cargo nets with their babies and all they could carry on their backs, was one that Mike would never forget.

As a playwright, he drew on these heart-wrenching experiences in Vietnam when crafting his plays "Johnny Baht" and "Smooth," the latter of which enjoyed a staged reading at the prestigious Circle in the Square Theatre in New York City.

His love for the people of distant places and cultures was evident in everything he read, supported, and wrote with his inimitable sense of humor and original voice. His favorite writers, along with the playwright Eugene O'Neill, were the "old salts" of the seas and rivers: Joseph Conrad, Herman Melville and Mark Twain. An avid reader of hundreds of books about the American Civil War, Mike had an extensive library of books on that period.

Mike's love and compassion for animals of all kinds led to his lifelong support to organizations that care for and protect them. The dearest of his nine beloved dogs over the years was perhaps his hound dog, Blue, who has greeted Mike at the far end of the Rainbow Bridge.

Mike and his wife, Karen, a retired professor of Drama at the University of Delaware and the former Executive Director of the Delaware Institute of the Arts in Education and the former Executive Director of Delaware Wolftrap, enjoyed summers in Vermont where he spent many hours fishing from a little row boat on Lake Salem, with another of his dogs, Kafka, sitting alert, beside him.

In addition to his loving wife of 42+ years, Karen Hurley-Heyman, he is survived by his brother, Jack Heyman, husband of Carol Canter; sister, Annette Heyman; nephews, Darian Rodriguez Heyman, husband of Rebecca Katz; Paulo Rodriguez Heyman, partner of Lauren Skowronski; nieces, Jessica Abbey Heyman, partner of Jonathan Podwil; Nicole Heyman, wife of Georgi Vladimirov; 3 great nieces and 4 great nephews, and a host of friends that will fondly miss him and his love of life.

In keeping with maritime tradition, there will be a "Crossing the Bar" ceremony in the Spring, in which Mike's ashes will be spread at sea by his loved ones and mates.