Michael John Pellegrino

A graveside service for Michael will be held Tuesday, April 4, 2023 at 12:00 PM at Purdy & Walters at Floral Hills, 409 Filbert Road, Lynnwood, WA 98036.

In lieu of flowers, please consider making a donation in Michael's name to ASPCA (American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals) at https://www.aspca.org/

Michael’s tribute, by Celebrant Paul Boardman:

When I talked to Cyndi, and to Barbara, the stories just poured out of them about Michael. They were exuberant - even gushing - about who this man Michael was to them.

The first thing I came away with - after talking with them - was that “To know Michael was to love him”. And that he exuded an aura of kindness. He would always say, “Don’t worry about me”…and he would put others before himself. He was just a really kind and caring man. Cyndi then added that “Michael was so humble, he would think we were gushing and would have just smiled that he made a difference.”

He was born on Manhattan, and wound up living in Queens. His purpose went beyond having his own nuclear family. His family bond was very strong. All his tenants knew him. Cyndi moved into the family home with Barbara. Michael was still at home at that time. An aunt was around the corner. All of the aunts and uncles. Michael did finally move out, but the furthest he moved was …around the corner.

He started buying rental houses. He started in Manhattan. Eventually bought houses in Queens. All his tenants said that Michael’s smile was so amazing. Cyndi had 3 tenants tells her recently.... that Michael always told their kids to stay in school and work hard. Then, he told them, even when you want to stop, keep on working so your family can have the life they deserve. During Covid, he took to walking the tenants’ dogs. He was worried about the dogs - “those dogs are in the apartment, they are not getting enough exercise.” He knew every single dog’s name. He just loved dogs. And dogs responded to him in kind. They loved him back.

He was crazy about animals. Again, Cyndi said: “I never met an animal who didn’t love him.” He was so good with them that they would just follow him, and even follow him off leash.

He adopted an old cat, who would just come around and spend a lot of time with Michael. Even when Cyndi was urging him to come out to Seattle, he would say “I’ve got to stay with the cat.” Then Cyndi said, “You are making the cat fat!” And Mike would say: “He’s got one life to live. Leave him alone!” That same cat was found sitting quietly on top of Michael after he died.

Michael could be goofy. He was so funny. He got sucked in to the happenings of the world. He got in deep following the Johnny Depp court trial. “I can‘t even….Cyndi! I’m so sucked in.” He loved the news. I guess you could say he loved the “juice of the world.” One time Cyndi recommended a show with multiple episodes that she liked: Michael got pulled in and said to her on the phone: “I don’t know how writers write this stuff! I just lost a week of my life binge-watching all the episodes.”

When Michael was 17, he asked his dad to allow him to enlist. He served 7 years. He was on a battleship in Vietnam. He saw a lot! And as a result, he was a huge supporter of Veterans.

He was a man who made light of everything. He always said, “Don’t stress out or it will kill you. Go have a cup of coffee”, he would urge.

He adored his family. He loved his sister. (And brother). He always told Cyndi, “Take care of your mother.” He just had a really close relationship with her. He cared for her deeply. He LOVED his parents. And he always believed that “you never fight with your mom.” He would urge Cyndi: “You’ve got to go and apologize to your mother - if something happens how are you going to live with that?!! …even if you are in the right, go apologize!”, he would say.

Some might have described Michael as a simple man. But he was also cultured. He loved all the Broadway shows. He loved the Phantom of the Opera. He had probably seen every Broadway show there was. He just LOVED the theater and what NY had to offer.

He was simply put: An amazing human being.

Cyndi and his sister Barbara tried to get him to come out to Seattle. His parents had moved out here. Cyndi tried to get him to sell his buildings. They would jab each other back and forth constantly. They just had the longest friendship. They were distant geographically, but never far from each other. They always had each other’s back. They literally talked and/or texted every single day. Cyndi really tried to get him out here. And she almost succeeded. Mike used to say, about Cyndi, “You are just a dog with a bone!” Kevin, Cyndi’s husband, always used to say that he is the king of his castle but the queen has all the power. He would joke to Cyndi: “You talk to Michael more than you talk to me!” But Cyndi, of course, only had her uncle’s best interest at heart. She said, “I wanted him to enjoy his life. I wanted him to be here so he could enjoy his family.” At the funeral home in NY, Cyndi saw him…Michael was at peace. And when she saw him, she said: “I told you I was getting you out to Seattle!”

Barbara, who is 3 years younger than Michael, said “I felt so safe with him. I was always the baby sister. I knew I could go to him for anything. In him, I got the best big brother. So it was nice when I got to take care of him. Michael broke his arm one time. And he couldn’t write out his homework. So I wrote out his homework for him. He was so selfless. He gave good advice. He was always sunny. He gave me his own HiFi. He just always wanted the best for me. He made sure, as a Big Brother, that I was always taken care of. He was so thoughtful all the time. When he was out on a ship somewhere in Asia - during the Vietnam war - he managed somehow to buy a whole set of china and send it to our mother. She never parted with the china set till the day she died. He was kind. It was like his purpose was to spread kindness and love. To show that there are caring people in the world. He put my aunt in one apartment rental he had and subsidized her heavily, so that our aunt was able to do what she wanted.”

Barbara said that her parents chose the perfect name for Michael. The name Michael is of Hebrew origin and means “who is like God”. It is a really strong name that is associated with strength, loyalty, and determination. Michael represented all those things…he would fight to try to make things better. He touched so many people.

She said, “Michael was the little form of my father. He had my father’s walk. It was just like seeing my father. He was just unique. He was a very special person. Always ambitious. He started working from when he was 13 years old. He was always hustling. And just gravitated naturally to real estate. It just took off for him. That was his cup of tea. In the end he didn’t really need an education. He was so good at it. He did a lot of his own work. He would be up in the middle of the night. He put in a lot of hours. I would never ever find another brother like that. It is very hard to say goodbye. He was so protective. I was the little sister who always tagged along. We were just extremely close. Michael is the cream of the crop.”

Michael had a big heart made of gold. Whatever he brought, he would always come in with a smile. He was happy-go-lucky. He was special. He died with a smile.

Michael was simply amazing…

“In a way”, Barbara said, “I look at Michael’s death as the end of one family. But Cyndi’s family is the beginning of a new family.”

Michael will be remembered as a man who lifted your spirits. Even just meeting him, you would have a different perspective and you would appreciate life more. His sunny mood was contagious. There was no way you could not be in a bad mood when you were around Michael. He was a great man of true kindness and caring.

We will terribly miss this man of loving kindness, this man of family – Michael. But we will cherish every memory he made with us, deeply in our hearts, forever.