The Passing of Michael McGirr
4 views
Skip to first unread message
Michael Lee
Feb 6, 2024, 6:53:19 PMFeb 6
to Fosl Mbr
Hello members,
Last week, our Peace Corps Sierra Leone community lost Michael McGirr
after his long battle with cancer. Michael served as a Peace Corps
Volunteer in Sierra Leone from 1977 to 1980. Our thoughts and prayers go
out to his family during this difficult time. We thank Michael for his
service and lifelong passion for helping others. Below, you will find
his obituary and details about his funeral services.
Take care,
Michael Lee
President
Friends of Sierra Leone
Michael John McGirr passed away February 1, 2024 in hospice, after a
valiant struggle with cancer. Born May 27, 1953 in Wausau Wisconsin to
Ann Teresa. McGirr and John Leo McGirr, Michael grew up in Ann Arbor,
Michigan, where he attended grade school and later Huron River High
School. After receiving a degree in journalism from the University of
Michigan, he joined the Peace Corps where he taught at a secondary
school and proceeded to build a school and personally provide
scholarships for many children in rural Pujehun District, Sierra Leone.
Upon his return to the United States three years later, Michael
continued to serve as a Public Affairs Specialist working with media,
promoting Peace Corps and awareness of international development issues
in nine Midwestern states. It was during this time in Kansas City where
he met his lifetime partner, Susan Boorse.
Following his involvement with Peace Corps, Michael and Susan moved to
the D.C. area where he began his 28-year career with the USDA National
Institute of Food and Agriculture. He directed the Polish/American
Extension Project in collaboration with 31 U.S. land-grant universities
and conducted on-site project planning, evaluation and management trips
to agricultural extension projects in China, Egypt, Russia and East
Africa, Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Republics. He went on to
become the National Program Leader and manage USDA's Afghanistan
Agricultural Extension Project.
He served as President for the Association for International Agriculture
and Rural Development Program and was recognized internationally as a
leader in agricultural development, having obtained a master’s degree in
International Public Policy at the John Hopkins University.
Michael was involved with many refugee programs, including those for
child amputee victims from Sierra Leone’s brutal war, mentoring refugees
from Afghanistan and assisting asylum seekers at the US southern border.
He also served as the Advocacy Team Leader for the Peace Corps Community
for Refugees.
Michael’s dedication to combating brutality and his compassion for the
unempowered touched many lives all over the world. Characteristically,
Mike continued giving after death, donating his body for research. He
was an avid enthusiast of music. His initial love of the Beatles when he
was 13, blossomed into the appreciation of many genres, including the
blues, rock and world music, and he loved attending concerts.
He will be sorely missed for his kindness, generosity and playful and
quick sense of humor, by Susan (Takoma Park, Maryland), his sister Nancy
(Antigua, Guatemala) and many friends and family spread across the
country and around the world.
Family and friends will be notified concerning memorial services. In
lieu of flowers, donations in Michael’s memory would be welcome. He was
a supporter of Schools for Salone, building and staffing schools in
Sierra Leone (https://schoolsforsalone.org/) and Fotokids, Nancy’s
program for at-risk children in Guatemala
(www.fotokidsoriginal.org/donations).
A celebration of life will be held at 3:00PM EST on Saturday, February
10 at the Takoma Park Presbyterian Church, 310 Tulip Avenue, Takoma
Park, MD. Street parking is limited. For those unable to attend, the
service will be streamed on the following Zoom link:
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86481324890?pwd=MFc4R0FTRjgwZ2FKZjZhN0pCMzg1dz09
Meeting ID: 864 8132 4890
Passcode: 402400
Last week, our Peace Corps Sierra Leone community lost Michael McGirr
after his long battle with cancer. Michael served as a Peace Corps
Volunteer in Sierra Leone from 1977 to 1980. Our thoughts and prayers go
out to his family during this difficult time. We thank Michael for his
service and lifelong passion for helping others. Below, you will find
his obituary and details about his funeral services.
Take care,
Michael Lee
President
Friends of Sierra Leone
Michael John McGirr passed away February 1, 2024 in hospice, after a
valiant struggle with cancer. Born May 27, 1953 in Wausau Wisconsin to
Ann Teresa. McGirr and John Leo McGirr, Michael grew up in Ann Arbor,
Michigan, where he attended grade school and later Huron River High
School. After receiving a degree in journalism from the University of
Michigan, he joined the Peace Corps where he taught at a secondary
school and proceeded to build a school and personally provide
scholarships for many children in rural Pujehun District, Sierra Leone.
Upon his return to the United States three years later, Michael
continued to serve as a Public Affairs Specialist working with media,
promoting Peace Corps and awareness of international development issues
in nine Midwestern states. It was during this time in Kansas City where
he met his lifetime partner, Susan Boorse.
Following his involvement with Peace Corps, Michael and Susan moved to
the D.C. area where he began his 28-year career with the USDA National
Institute of Food and Agriculture. He directed the Polish/American
Extension Project in collaboration with 31 U.S. land-grant universities
and conducted on-site project planning, evaluation and management trips
to agricultural extension projects in China, Egypt, Russia and East
Africa, Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Republics. He went on to
become the National Program Leader and manage USDA's Afghanistan
Agricultural Extension Project.
He served as President for the Association for International Agriculture
and Rural Development Program and was recognized internationally as a
leader in agricultural development, having obtained a master’s degree in
International Public Policy at the John Hopkins University.
Michael was involved with many refugee programs, including those for
child amputee victims from Sierra Leone’s brutal war, mentoring refugees
from Afghanistan and assisting asylum seekers at the US southern border.
He also served as the Advocacy Team Leader for the Peace Corps Community
for Refugees.
Michael’s dedication to combating brutality and his compassion for the
unempowered touched many lives all over the world. Characteristically,
Mike continued giving after death, donating his body for research. He
was an avid enthusiast of music. His initial love of the Beatles when he
was 13, blossomed into the appreciation of many genres, including the
blues, rock and world music, and he loved attending concerts.
He will be sorely missed for his kindness, generosity and playful and
quick sense of humor, by Susan (Takoma Park, Maryland), his sister Nancy
(Antigua, Guatemala) and many friends and family spread across the
country and around the world.
Family and friends will be notified concerning memorial services. In
lieu of flowers, donations in Michael’s memory would be welcome. He was
a supporter of Schools for Salone, building and staffing schools in
Sierra Leone (https://schoolsforsalone.org/) and Fotokids, Nancy’s
program for at-risk children in Guatemala
(www.fotokidsoriginal.org/donations).
A celebration of life will be held at 3:00PM EST on Saturday, February
10 at the Takoma Park Presbyterian Church, 310 Tulip Avenue, Takoma
Park, MD. Street parking is limited. For those unable to attend, the
service will be streamed on the following Zoom link:
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86481324890?pwd=MFc4R0FTRjgwZ2FKZjZhN0pCMzg1dz09
Meeting ID: 864 8132 4890
Passcode: 402400
fan...@aol.com
Feb 7, 2024, 2:21:55 AMFeb 7
to Fosl Mbr, Michael Lee
May his soul rest in perfect peace.
Thanks Aiah
--
FoSL website: https://fosalone.org
Join FoSL $25 membership: https://fosalone.org/mbrship/
---
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Friends of Sierra Leone" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to fosl_mbr+u...@googlegroups.com.
To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/fosl_mbr/696c41f7a7ffb2196a74f36209b242f6%40fosalone.org.
Kwame Fitzjohn
Feb 8, 2024, 5:43:02 PMFeb 8
to 'fanday@aol.com' via Friends of Sierra Leone, Michael Lee, fan...@aol.com
Wow, he packed in a lot in a relatively short lifespan! May Mike McGirr's soul rest in eternal perfect peace.
Such a warm, convivial and amiable gentleman who not one soul could have a problem with 🙏🏾
From: 'fan...@aol.com' via Friends of Sierra Leone <fosl...@googlegroups.com>
Sent: Wednesday, February 7, 2024 2:21 AM
To: Fosl Mbr <fosl...@googlegroups.com>; Michael Lee <in...@fosalone.org>
Subject: Re: [FoSL_Mbr] The Passing of Michael McGirr
Sent: Wednesday, February 7, 2024 2:21 AM
To: Fosl Mbr <fosl...@googlegroups.com>; Michael Lee <in...@fosalone.org>
Subject: Re: [FoSL_Mbr] The Passing of Michael McGirr
To view this discussion on the web visit
https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/fosl_mbr/110942270.3506790.1707290509412%40mail.yahoo.com.
Reply all
Reply to author
Forward
0 new messages