Michael “Mike” Stebbins

The ultimate folly of man is that we think we all have time. Well...crap. Here we find ourselves in the obituary section. You, perusing out of curiosity; me, trying to find the words to sum up the absolute legend that is Mike Stebbins.

The middle of three, Mike was born in Southern California (or 'Northern Mexico' as he'd joke) to Robert and Rita Stebbins. We're sure he was an absolute rascal, but he'd never let us question his family too much on that. (Don't worry, we'll get the intel from his sister, Carole (George) Nix now that he can't stop us). The most he'd tell his children is that he had to walk to school without a hat, gloves, scarf, or jacket every winter. Duh, Dad, it was Southern California. Mike lived in that area until his 20s when he met his former wife, Michelle.

While working in photo developing and processing, Mike moved a few times with his young family; ultimately landing in Indiana. To him it was unreal how green everything was, and how many trees there were without fear of forest fires. After settling in Indiana, Mike's family grew to four children: Sarah (Jimmy) Jones, Emily (Charles) Oller, Philip (Angie) Stebbins, Elizabeth (Trevor) Golden; all of whom love him very much despite his insanely corny jokes. Later, Mike adopted his nephew Robert (Casey) Stebbins. Much later Mike was blessed with his grandchildren, who he was very proud of: Silk Stebbins Corley, Elijah (Hannah) Hauber, Elaine Hauber, Eva Hauber, and Nick Russell. Of course, Mike had a select few "grandchildren of the heart" who will surely miss him too.

With a glimmer in his eye and an ever-present joke on his lips, Mike never met a stranger. An avid gardener he had a wagon with vegetables for the local passersby. If they were lucky, they'd get to meet Mike and be greeted by a quip followed by a story. Mike was welcoming to one and all; often he had people of cross faiths meet at his house one night a week to discuss their views and beliefs. Ultimately, Mike was a Jesus guy through and through but always loved to learn and hear different schools of thought and points of view.

Mike didn't have TV, but he did have books and was a voracious reader. He'd often joke he didn't need a television, he had kids who kept him busy and as we turned into adults- kept him entertained. He also leaves behind a host of friends who would come just to sit a spell in the tranquility of his yard, or show up for an occasional Wednesday night celebration (Wednesday was the day of his birth after all).

Being raised by a woman who, herself, rode motorcycles there's no surprise that Mike picked up the hobby. He enjoyed "wind therapy" as his daughter would call it, and overall spending time out with friends and his children. He also really enjoyed his motorcycles because it gave him a chance to adventure. Sure, mostly along the country roads of Indiana. But he has ridden his bike across the country a few times.

His wanderlust and joy for travel were fully experienced later in life, adventuring with his family all over the nation's park systems, and a few state parks too. A wealth of vast knowledge (I'm pretty sure he wrote the encyclopedias- for you young'ins that's like the googles but in book form), Mike always wowed his kids with trivia, even specific local trivia for where we were traveling. He'd always be able to identify the plants and animals with barely a glance. No, he didn't make it up, he was just that smart!

So what brings us all here, to this particular section of the newspaper? Well, Mike who always said "He who knows when enough is enough will always have enough." ultimately landed on the 'enough' side of life. While doing his favorite thing, adventuring with his children and experiencing national parks through their eyes, his big ole brain tried to do him in. Not one to go without a fight, he fought, but ultimately he had enough. Born November of 1949 and gone in October of 2024 he passed away at "19 with 55 years of experience".

As Dad always says, you can't take life too seriously, no one will make it out alive. While our hearts are absolutely shattered at the loss of this legend, we know he's off on another great adventure one he can't wait to tell us about with that mischievous glimmer in his eye.

We couldn't let a Saturday go to waste. Sat 11/9 visitation is at 3 pm with service at 6 pm - Geisen Carlisle Funeral Home - Michigan City