Michael Lawrence Rudzis was born at Camp Lejeune, NC on March 31, 1950, the oldest of five children born to Grace and Colonel Edwin Rudzis. Michael’s father was a U.S. Marine Corps Officer who fought in World War II as an enlisted man and was appointed to the U.S. Naval Academy, graduating in 1948. Michael’s childhood was that of a military family moving from post to post as he grew up. Brother John, a USNA ’78 grad, served in the Marine Corps as their father had. Michael’s great-great-grandfather was a USMA 1886 graduate, and his great-grandfather was a USMA April 1917 graduate. 

Michael began high school in Annapolis while his father was an instructor at the Naval Academy. Brother John remembers: “One notable experience was a Navy junior boxing match during which he boxed young Bill Belichick, future coach of the New England Patriots. The outcome was a split decision (though Bill might think he won).” The following three years Michael attended and graduated from Carmel (California) High School, while his father was the senior Marine Corps representative on the Naval Post Graduate School staff in nearby Monterey. Brother John remembers Michael participating in sports, including swimming and cross country. He wrote the sports column for the school paper, which was also published in the Monterey Peninsula Herald. 

Michael entered West Point on July 1, 1968 as a member of the Class of 1972. As a cadet, Michael was the classmate who moved quietly and calmly through his years at West Point. Roommate Bud West recalls Michael as a man of faith and was impressed by his “steely resolve to get through West Point.” Michael was a member of the Triathlon and German clubs and served as a Catholic acolyte all four years at West Point. During the summer of 1970, Michael volunteered, along with classmate Rod Azama, to participate in a new program for cadets to attend Airborne School. He gave up most of his summer leave to participate in this program, earning his Jump Wings as a cadet—something very unusual at that time. 

After branching Infantry and following graduation, Michael attended Pathfinder and Ranger schools, successfully completing both challenging courses. After completing the Infantry Officer Basic Course, he reported to the 1-46th Infantry in Erlangen, Germany. Fellow lieutenants in the 1-46th, Don Meno and Leo Mount, remember Michael as “a bachelor living on the economy who was good natured, kind, thoughtful with a positive attitude and a generous sense of humor.” Leo Mount said he didn’t “recall him ever saying an unkind word.” Michael’s fluency in German, learned in high school and at West Point, served him and his friends well, as they participated in local activities such as volksmarches and consumption of bratwurst and beer. Michael held positions at the battalion and brigade levels during his time in Germany. Leo Mount said, “My life was enriched through my friendship with Michael.”

Michael left the Army in 1977 and joined IBM as a marketing representative, followed by work as an Arthur Anderson consultant. He joined Retail Data Systems in Seattle in 1981 and moved to Seattle First National Bank in 1984. SeaFirst later merged with Bank of America, where Michael worked for 35 years as a systems analyst and vice president. His expertise was sought by co-workers who enjoyed his sense of humor and generous spirit. In 1985 Michael married Michele and together they raised four children: Nicholas, Erika, Peter, and Martin. Michael was very active in the Catholic Church: he sang in the choir, often attended Mass daily, volunteered as a catechist teaching faith by both word and example. Michael, Michele, and their children enjoyed a family life full of church, travel, music and love for the outdoors. Michael’s children remember: “Dad was highly invested in our development and we have fond memories of his cheering us on at competitions, sharing outdoor adventures and campouts, and overseeing our schoolwork. As we grew up, Dad sought to connect regularly, taking time from work to meet us for coffee or lunch, and sharing his love of classical music by taking us to the symphony. We loved Dad for his faith, counsel, gentleness and sense of fun.” 

In 2000, Michael was treated for non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma; in 2002, following a recurrence, he received a stem cell transplant. Michael’s will to live, his sense of humor and strong character kept him going for another 18 years. On March 19, 2020, just 12 days short of his 70th birthday, he succumbed to a non-Covid MRSA lung infection and passed away. At the time of his death, he and Michele were blessed with three grandchildren: Adrian, Nadia, and Theodore. A fourth grandchild, Marcus, was born in February 2021 and a fifth arrived later in 2021. 

Michael’s classmates remember him as quiet, calm with a dry sense of humor and always at peace. He had a deep love for his family. Classmate Rod Azama visited him in Seattle while he was dealing with his illness and asked him how he was doing with his cancer. Michael answered that he was hanging in there, and that Michele was phenomenal. He added that he didn’t know how he would be able to do this without Michele. First and foremost, in Michael’s life was his love for Michele, their children and grandchildren. Michael was deeply loved by his wife, his children and grandchildren, his parents, brothers, sisters, and his classmates. 

Be Thou at Peace, husband, father, grandfather, son, brother, friend, and classmate. 

— Family and classmates