Michael L. Gilligan, 91, passed away Sunday, May 19, 2013, at Ellen House in Yakima, Wash.

Mike was born Jan. 8, 1922, in Montpelier, Idaho, to Estelle (Golightly) Gilligan and John Calvin Gilligan. He received his early education in Montpelier, playing high school football and basketball, which led to a lifelong love of sports. He attended Rexburg Junior College in Rexburg, Idaho, and Gonzaga University in Spokane, and joined the U.S. Army in 1942, where he served until 1945. While assigned briefly to Lake Charles, La., Mike met his future wife Stella Vay Israel, who he married on Sept. 22, 1943.

Mike served during World War II as a 1st Lt. in the U.S. Army Air Corp in the Normandy, Northern France and Rhineland Campaigns. He worked for 40 years for the Washington State Department of Transportation as a civil engineer, in Walla Walla, Pasco and Yakima, where he retired as Dist. 5 Budget Manager in 1987.

Mike and Stella were lifelong members of St. Paul Cathedral Parish, and proudly sent their four children to St. Paul School and Carroll High School. All four graduated from Washington State University, and inherited Mike's love of reading.

Mike was asked, when he moved into Ellen House, about his hobbies. "My family," he said, simply.

He is survived by his wife of almost 70 years, Stella Vay Gilligan, and their children, Shannon (Greg) Gilligan-Seiler of Kirkland, Wash., Maureen Gilligan and Kathleen (Dan) Coleman of Spokane, Wash., and Kevin (Pamela) Gilligan of Charleston, S.C. His beloved grandchildren – Brandon, Talon and Destry Seiler, Connary and Padraig Gilligan, and Madigan Gilligan – also survive him. He was preceded in death by brothers Darus and Bill Gilligan, and sisters Velma Gilligan and Norma Christensen-Riggs.

A vigil will be held at 5:30 p.m. Thursday, May 30, 2013, at Langevin-Mussetter Funeral Home. A funeral Mass will be celebrated at 11 a.m. on Friday, May 31, 2013, at St. Paul Cathedral. Full military honors and commitment follow at Calvary Cemetery.

The Gilligan Family is forever indebted to the caregivers at Ellen House, who loved Mike like a father, and to St. Paul Cathedral leaders and parishioners who prayed for him and the family during Mike's health setbacks.