Published: Wednesday, September 5, 2012
Updated: Wednesday, January 9, 2013 18:01
“Because of Mike, we will all dance longer, sing louder, and fall harder.” Michael Gannon’s sister, Michelle ’12, captured him perfectly with these words. Although a thoughtful and introspective person, Michael would always light up the room with his unforgettable laugh, witty humor, and playful sarcasm. Despite being a double major in Carroll School of Management (Finance and Management & Leadership) and an active member of the Club Water Polo Team, he always made time to be the loudest and most fun at the party. He had the ability to make anyone laugh and smile just by uttering his token phrases “Unreal” and “No way.” He found joy in anything from the latest episode of True Blood to his newest addition to his beloved Sperry collection. His enthusiasm for the small things in life rubbed off on everyone, and his absence is sorely felt among his friends and family. The following quotes are a collection of our favorite thoughts and stories about Michael.
“One day when we were cruising around in the Lexus and were just about to turn back into campus, ‘Made in America’ came on and Mike was like, ‘Well, we have to stay in the car for this song,” so we drove another lap around BC . It was a fun, spontaneous moment and it speaks to how fun-loving he was!”
– Margaret Manning, A&S ’14
“The time we were at the Esplanade in Boston we saw a bunch of people in sailboats for like sailing practice or something and Mike turns to me, ‘Yeah, actually I was really into sailing for a long time. I was actually on the US Junior Olympic Sailing team.’
I said ‘Really?’, and he went on to say “Yeah man, it was pretty intense.” I thought it was really awesome, but shortly thereafter I discovered he was just f —in with me...”
– Connor Hutchison, A&S ’14
“Mike always knew how to make us laugh. I remember one night this past spring when he came over to our room to hang out with us girls. Wearing a red sweatshirt, he wrapped himself in our red blanket and yelled at me, ‘his redheaded friend,’ to come join him on the red couch. He proceeded to entertain us for the entire night with his contagious smile and sense of humor.”
– Beth Evans, CSOM ’14
“1-When he fell off the dock over Spring Break trying to stop the boat from drifting too far away. Hilarious moment. 2- When he got scared of a bug at dinner with his parents and grandparents and broke his chair trying to get away. 3- Singing ‘Made in America’ with him on Halloween even though no one in the room wanted to hear it. 4- Listening to him try and sing along to Passion Pit while in the shower. 5- Eating lunch with him everyday after our Operations class ... he got me addicted to the paninis at Hillside and convinced me that Chobani isn’t girly cause it has lots of protein in it. I could really go on and on but I guess the overall point is that he made me smile every day and I’ll miss him because of that.”
– Kenny Patricia, CSOM ’14
“One of my favorite Mike lines was when he texted me and Colin while we were in the other room, ‘Can one of you play me back in scramble (with friends) so I can do something while sh—ing.”
– Brian Vieten, A&S ’14
“Even when I did not know him that well, he would burst into song and actually sing very well. It came out of nowhere—I never expected him, this manly man, to freely sing in front of me. Every time we drove anywhere. Mike was never embarrassed to be himself, even when it came to doing cheerleading poses in our room and trying so hard to be flexible when he really just was not.”
- Caroline White, A&S ’14
“My personal favorite memory of him was freshman year Spring Break when he fell off a boat.”
– Amelia Burke, CSON ’14
It takes a special kind of person to drive three girls from BC to Newbury Street in Thursday rush hour traffic and circle around the block while they try on clothes at American Apparel just for a costume party. He was so selfless and loving and didn’t need much to have a good time. We will forever miss his post-practice visits just to talk and eat his staple peanut butter and banana snack.
Mike touched so many people, and he will never be forgotten. If you see gold water polo pins or turquoise “MPG Forever” bracelets around campus, you will know you are in the presence of some of the luckiest people in the world who hold Mike close to their hearts.
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