Michael Sipos

1946 - 2015

Michael Westcott Sipos

68, of San Rafael, Ca. passed away unexpectedly from a heart attack on February 23, 2015, after his daily walk with his caregiver at the Marin Civic Center.
Michael was born at Samuel Merritt Hospital in Oakland, Ca. on June 17, 1946. the first child of Frank and Laurie Sipos. He grew up in El Cerrito, attended El Monte grammar school, Portola Jr. High, and graduated from El Cerrito High School in 1963. Mike was an energetic, talented kid, exceptionally gifted in music and academics. He played violin, guitar, banjo and drums, loved astronomy, telescopes, rockets, and building radios. Mike attended UC Berkeley and, following in his father's footsteps, graduated with a BS in Chemical Engineering in 1967. He was a member of Delta Upsilon fraternity, a member of the Oski Committee, and a Cal Bears yell leader.
After graduation, Mike moved to the East Coast to attend Harvard University where he graduated with an MBA in 1969. He began his corporate career as Marketing Manager for Stauffer Chemical Co. in New York City. He loved his job, his friends and living on the East Coast. He was on a path to a distinguished career when, tragically, on June 12,1976, a multiple car auto accident, caused by a drunk driver, left him in a coma for months and caused a traumatic brain injury that altered the course of his life.
The next year, Mike was accepted as one of the first patients in a new brain injury program headed by the renowned Dr. Yehuda Ben-Yishay. at New York University Medical Center's Rusk Institute of Rehabilitation Medicine, and he and his mother moved to New York for the two year program. Mike learned how to walk, eat, speak, write, take care of his own basic needs, and regain social skills, including a keen and uncensored sense of humor. After returning home to the Bay Area, on a quest to gain independence, Mike continued rehabilitation with the late Dr. Sheldon Berrol, head of Rehabilitation Medicine at San Francisco General Hospital and with the Center for Independent Living in Berkeley. Although no longer able to return to his previous profession, Mike loved volunteering for many years in the rehabilitation departments of SFGH, Laguna Honda, Golden State and John Muir Hospital, helping patients with head injuries. In 2003, Mike moved to San Rafael to be closer to his sister. He volunteered at Kentfield Rehab for a short while and struggled to live independently in his own home. He loved going to musical events, especially jazz and blues. He loved Indian restaurants, the Cal Bears, sports cars, and the family cabin in Kirkwood. During his last four years he appreciated the daily assistance, patience, and care of his devoted caregiver, Josese Tagicakibau.
Mike was predeceased by his loving and supportive parents. He was very loved and will be missed by his sister, Peg Sipos of Larkspur, sister-in-law Melita Figueroa of Larkspur, his caregiver Josese Tagicakibau and his loyal lifelong friends: Tom Glassberg of Jackson Hole, WY. Greg Nelson of Wilsonville, OR, Ira Krauss of New Providence, NJ and Fred Kanter of Mountain Lakes, NJ. We are all sad, but grateful that Mike is finally at peace.
Assisted by Monte's Chapel of the Hills, San Anslemo.