MICHAEL "Mike" AMBROSE Sr.

AMBROSE MICHAEL W. AMBROSE, SR. "Mike" Passed away on February 3, 2021 at age 82. He died peacefully, surrounded by family, in his home on Capitol Hill where he lived for 52 years. He is survived by children, Moira Ambrose Connelly (and husband Rich Connelly), Michael Ambrose, Jr. (and wife Frieda Leonard), Nelly Ambrose (and husband Vince Tur-Rojas), and Peggy Ambrose Franzen; grandchildren, Kathleen, Allison, Patrick, and Nora Connelly, Declan, Kieran, and Brendan Ambrose, Nicholas and Maddie Franzen (and their father Nick Franzen); and siblings Maureen Ambrose Gordon and Kelly Ambrose. He valued the companionship in recent years of Patricia Molumby. He was preceded in death by his wife Sharon Ambrose, a former D.C. City Councilmember. Mike was grateful to AA for 45 years of sobriety. He was active in the Civil Rights and anti-Vietnam War movements, including being present in Montgomery, AL to welcome Dr. King and marchers from Selma and organizing federal workers to oppose the Vietnam War. He was a dedicated U.S. civil servant, a career he considered a calling. He took pride in his work helping to launch HeadStart and later senior positions in the Children's Bureau of the Department of Health and Human Services, including Deputy Commissioner of the Bureau. He also volunteered with the boards of the ACLU, St. Anselm's Abbey School, and Edmund Burke School (which he helped to found). He worked through the Capitol Hill Group Ministry to co-found and work for over 35 years as a volunteer at an annual tax clinic on Capitol Hill where community members could receive help to file their returns. He was an avid traveller, hiker, and trekker: he touched all the continents, climbed 40 of the 50 U.S. highpoints, repeatedly completed the 100K one-day hike along the C&O Canal, summited Kilimanjaro, and trekked to Machu Picchu. Raised in La Grange Park, IL., he attended Fenwick High School in Oak Park, IL, and Loras College in Dubuque, IA. He moved to Washington as part of a management training program in the U.S. Treasury Department. He is remembered most as a devoted father, grandfather, brother, and friend. In lieu of flowers, please donate to the ACLU or the Potomac Appalachian Trail Club. A funeral Mass with social distance precautions will be celebrated at St. Peter's Catholic Church, 313 Second Street, S.E., 20003 on Tuesday, February 9, at 10 a.m., with receiving of friends at 9:30 a.m. In-person Mass is limited to 100 persons. Please sign-up here: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/904054faaaf23a0fd0-funeral1">www.signupgenius.com/go/904054faaaf23a0fd0-funeral1. The funeral Mass will also be livestreamed at www.facebook.com/SaintPetersDC/live_videosA funeral Mass with social distance precautions will be celebrated at St. Peter's Catholic Church, 313 Second Street, S.E., 20003 on Tuesday, February 9, at 10 a.m., with receiving of friends at 9:30 a.m. In-person Mass is limited to 100 persons. Please sign-up here: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/904054faaaf23a0fd0-funeral1. The funeral Mass will also be livestreamed at www.facebook.com/SaintPetersDC/live_videos