To Janet:  It's a tough day for you and his family and friends.  So many friends wrote wonderful tributes last year you can find peace to know he was loved and will be fondly remembered forever in our hearts.  Steve and Debbie Kanda

Mike, a year has passed since you left this earth. Today, and each and every day the memory of you - your love, your courage —resides in my heart,  I miss you sweet brother.

Deb

Mike and I were college roommates at Ohio State during the academic year 1972/1973.  My wife Joannie (fiance at the time) and I introduced Mike and Janet to each other at a party in the fall of 1973.  Joannie and I got married in Feb of 1974 and Mike and Janet got married the following August (thanks to Janet for telling me the month).  Over the past 40+ years, our careers placed us in different geographical locations but we kept in touch with Holiday letter updates and occasional visits.  It's hard to believe how fast the years have flown by since those partying college years at Ohio State, New years and the Kentucky derby parties at my Aunt and Uncles in Elizabethtown, KY and weekend parties at University of Dayton where my cousin was a student when we were at Ohio State.

Mike and I were in the Key Club At Eastlake North High School where we had a lot of fun and solidified our friendship. We went to different universities but still hung out together after graduation. He got a job as a soils scientist in a tiny town called Saint Clairsville Ohio. I took a drive down there and he showed me around town and took me out to a field in the middle of nowhere and explained stuff I didn’t understand but he was so enthusiastic and proud. He was an usher in my wedding in 1974.  We saw each other at our 50th high school reunion and spoke on the phone earlier this year. Rest In Peace my friend. 

I have known Mike and Janet since 1974 and had the opportunity to work with Mike for about 12 years in Clemson SC and Dayton OH. We hired Mike as a software support engineer based on our previous experience knowing him outside of a work environment. Based on his intelligence and work ethic, he became a top performing support engineer. Mike particularly excelled in handling problems at the customers sites. I was comfortable with sending Mike to both domestic and international high value pilot sites and he was always able to isolate problems and work with the software development team to resolve them, an excellent employee, man and friend.

John Morrow

Sad to read about Mike's passing.  He taught me, as a new District Conservationist,  much about Pike Co soils, and too much about Indian turnips!  He and I played softball on the OVEC team,  and enjoyed a few brews at the now gone Emmitt House in Waverly.  Always thoughtful and helpful on and off the job,  Mike will long be remembered  for his good deeds.   God bless his family.  

Condolences to Mike's family and friends.  I got to know Mike many years ago when he worked for USDA and I worked for ODNR soil and water conservation.  I appreciated that Mike was always dedicated to the science and its practice,  technology, and and to the agency's partners in getting conservation on the land, and making informed resource management decisions.  His legacy to family and friends and others he helped lives on.




I worked with and for Mike when he managed a team of IT consultants at Sterling Commerce.    He was  probably the best manager I ever had.   He really cared about the people on his team and exuded a warmth and compassion that was genuine.   I was saddened when his disease progressed to the point where he couldn’t work but I was happy to see that he fought a good fight against it and had many more years with his family and friends.

My condolences to his family and friends.

Warm Regards,

Bob Barrett 

I am very sorry to hear of Mike's passing.  My condolences to his family.  I knew Mike through our work with the US Soil Conservation Service (now the Natural Resources Conservation Service).   Mike was a well respected soil scientist.   He was thoughtful and always had a ready smile and a kind word for others.  He will be missed by his many friends.

Mike, my loving brother, you are deeply missed, forever you will remain in my heart. From a young boy and all through your life, you were conscientious and compassionate. You showed how you cared in your deeds and in your strong, all-enveloping hugs. We who were blessed with your presence are forever grateful. 

Childhood memories of you being “mom” when our mother was ill still fill me with tenderness and admiration. I’ve always been in awe of your intelligence, your sense of humor, your resilience, but my awe was even greater when you used your gifts to navigate the complexity of your illness with dignity and courage. You were my hero when we were kids, all through our lives, and you will continue to be my hero forevermore. 

Sweet journey, dear brother.

Jan, Chris, Amanda, Walker, Genevieve and Grace, my heart goes out to all of you for the loss of your husband and partner in life, your father, your father-in-law, and your grandpa. We are all heartbroken by Mike’s passing, but it’s wonderful to know that his love and goodness lives on through all of you. My prayers are with you.

So sorry to hear the news of Mike!  We became friends enjoying Coffee at Caribou in Polaris,   My Condolences to his entire family!  Great guy!  

Ed Cristofoli

Sorry to hear about his passing.  Mike was a great Soil Scientist.  You could tell he enjoyed the work.  He also did an outstanding job as editor on the AOP Newsletter for a number of years.  A special thanks to him for doing a remarkable job when I was president of AOP.  I plan to send a donation the the St. Michael St. Vincent DePaul Society.
                Anna and Larry Tornes

OBITUARY

Michael Keith Plunkett

13 March, 1950 – 29 October, 2022

Schoedinger Worthington

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