Michael Keran Jr. (Chib)

It is with a heavy heart that we announce the death of our son Michael William Keran Jr., 48, on New Year's Eve, December 31, 2017 at 6:20pm. All his family was with him, his wife and two daughters at the front of the bed, his parents and brother at the foot of the bed. It took only two months for a very aggressive brain cancer to kill him.

Mike Jr. was born in St. Louis, Mo., on May 21, 1969, the first child of Michael Sr. and Helene Keran. By age 4, he moved with his family to Tiburon, Calif., where he attended Bel Aire Elementary School then St. Hilary School. At 15, he moved with his family to Princeton, N.J., but after high school returned to California, enrolled at University of California at Santa Barbara School of Engineering and graduated with a BS degree in computer science. After graduation in 1992, he was recruited by Microsoft and moved to Seattle, Wash.

His great passion was Ultimate, hiking, biking, photography, and helping others. He loved playing and coaching Ultimate. He had many outdoor adventures, in South America, Africa, Europe, and the U.S. His pictures belonged in National Geographic. His parents came to understand and appreciate the quality of his friendships as so many people rallied around him and told stories of how he touched their life, which touched his parents' hearts.

Mike Jr. is survived by his wife, Joanna;, two daughters, Eva and Phoebe; his brother, Patrick; and his parents, Mike Sr. and Helene. There will be a memorial service in Seattle on March 4, and his ashes will be interred in the Keran family plot after a funeral mass in Corcoran, Minn., on May 21. There he will join three other Michael Kerans, whose lineage go back to Ireland almost 200 years ago.