The class lost one of its most vigorous and respected leaders when Mike died of a heart attack at his home in Pittsburgh May 30, 2011.

Mike came to Princeton from Scranton (Pa.) Central High School, where he excelled both academically and athletically. He was an all-region defensive back and went on to play that position on Princeton’s Ivy Championship team of 1969. Taking up lacrosse his freshman year, he became an All-Ivy and All-American midfielder in 1970, and was selected captain of the North team in the North-South Game. He graduated with honors in chemical engineering. 

Mike served in Army intelligence in West Germany and went on to earn an M.B.A. from the University of Scranton in 1973 and a law degree from the University of Virginia in 1976. After clerking for Chief Justice Michael Eagen of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court, he joined the law firm of Buchanan, Ingersoll & Rooney, where he spent his entire professional career . He specialized in commercial litigation and counted the Pittsburgh Steelers among his clients. Recognized by his peers as one of the finest litigators in Pittsburgh, he was a fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers as well as other professional honorary organizations, and served as an adjunct faculty member at the University of Pittsburgh Law School. 

Mike’s civic leadership was far-reaching and included the Equal Justice Campaign of Neighborhood Legal Services, multiple Legal Aid Society projects, t he Anti-Defamation League, and St. Anthony’s School for Handicapped Children, among others. Yet he still found time to coach youth lacrosse, and was named a 2003 Man of the Year by US Lacrosse. 

President of the Princeton Alumni Association of Western Pennsylvania, Mike took on many other University and class volunteer assignments, always with enthusiasm and dedication without equal. A good friend to many classmates and teammates, we always will remember Mike as an indomitable achiever — bright, loyal, and selfless. 

To his wife, Kathy, children Margaret ’01, Mary Patricia ’03, Caitlin Elizabeth ’09, and Vincent Anthony, the class extends its profound sympathy.

Undergraduate Class of 1970