He graduated from the Haverford School and attended Princeton for two years, joining Elm Club. He earned a bachelor’s degree as a history major at the University of Pennsylvania. He earned an MBA in marketing from the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School and worked for a time at an advertising firm in Philadelphia.

Mike married Constance M. Hall in 1953, and they had three daughters, Nicole, Lisa, and Andrea. After they divorced, he married Sandra Wengi and adopted her son.

Mike joined Alcoholics Anonymous in his 50s as a recovering alcoholic. He rebuilt his health through long-distance biking and vegetarianism. In retirement he lived in a house on stilts in Kitty Hawk, N.C. At the end of his life he was a very private man. He spent his days at the gym and reading. Very tech-savvy, his computer was his gateway to the intellectual world that he so valued.

He was predeceased by his wife of many years, Sandra, who had become incapacitated with Alzheimer’s disease. He was also tragically predeceased by his adopted son, Eric. He is survived by his three daughters and five grandchildren.