Dear Friends and Family,
We wanted to let you know that Mike passed away on the evening of May 27th north of Daytona, Florida with Smoky and me at his side. We had been on our road trip with our dear friends and travel companions, Roger & Judy.
Mike did what he wanted. He visited friends in North Carolina; he
swam in the ocean at his favorite Florida hotel; he visited with his
mother, sister and others in Fort Lauderdale; he traveled to Linda's mom and saw more family and friends including Alberto who flew up from Mexico for a visit.
On Monday, after enjoying a lovely day in the pool, Mike decided it was time to head towards Washington, DC and home. While we were driving North, Mike decided it was time to leave on new travels beyond all of us.
We will send more details later but we wanted you to hear this news from us personally. And we wanted to let you know how much comfort your prayers, thoughts and love have meant to all of us.
Love,
Linda and Smoky
Mike Lamitola passed away on Tuesday, May 27th while on a road trip visiting family and friends. His wife, Linda was at his side along with his dog, Smoky and traveling companions, Judy and Roger.
Mike had recently been diagnosed with esophageal cancer that
had spread throughout his body. He knew he didn't have much time left on earth and wanted to be on the road connecting with the people he loved.
Mike was a theater professional in the truest sense of the word. He knew the power of theater to transform. It had transformed his life as a deaf man and as a deaf artist. His passion and his dedication was to make theater that creates change. He loved to act and was a visible force on the stage. As a director he had bold visions, and was insightful and generous with actors. He loved new work, whether he created it himself as a playwright or collaborated with writers to bring it to life. No one who had seen him as a solo performer of "The Seed" would ever forget the humor and humanity he so easily shared. As a teacher he brought light to the eyes of his students, whether sharing
the skills of the actor, the power of visual theater or the beauty and strength of his great love of American Sign Language.
Michael was a man committed to equal access for all and he used
his talents as a deaf interpreter to achieve this. He worked in the
legal system with Mexican immigrants who were being exploited. He was an advocate for deaf students to have equal access to
education. Most recently as the Artistic Manager of NTD, he worked to present deaf culture and American Sign Language with
clarity and power to every audience. Through his efforts, the NTD
summer school was revived for the training of young deaf actors and he established a Deaf Culture Series to present the work of deaf artists to the audience at large.
Mike is survived by his wife Linda, his dog Smoky, his mother
Vivian, a deaf sister Donna in Florida, his brother Tony in Oklahoma, his brother Ray in Long Island, and his sister Vicki in Utah.
Additionally, he has many loving nieces and nephews, cousins,
aunts, uncles, and a large loving extended family on Linda's side.
And throughout this country and throughout the world he has a
huge loving circle of friends who laughed with him, cherished him,
and will never forget him.
The road was his home
The theater was his heart
A place to be together
Even when apart
His gifts and love are timeless
Ever present
Always here
We wanted to let you know that Mike passed away on the evening of May 27th north of Daytona, Florida with Smoky and me at his side. We had been on our road trip with our dear friends and travel companions, Roger & Judy.
Mike did what he wanted. He visited friends in North Carolina; he
swam in the ocean at his favorite Florida hotel; he visited with his
mother, sister and others in Fort Lauderdale; he traveled to Linda's mom and saw more family and friends including Alberto who flew up from Mexico for a visit.
On Monday, after enjoying a lovely day in the pool, Mike decided it was time to head towards Washington, DC and home. While we were driving North, Mike decided it was time to leave on new travels beyond all of us.
We will send more details later but we wanted you to hear this news from us personally. And we wanted to let you know how much comfort your prayers, thoughts and love have meant to all of us.
Love,
Linda and Smoky
Mike Lamitola passed away on Tuesday, May 27th while on a road trip visiting family and friends. His wife, Linda was at his side along with his dog, Smoky and traveling companions, Judy and Roger.
Mike had recently been diagnosed with esophageal cancer that
had spread throughout his body. He knew he didn't have much time left on earth and wanted to be on the road connecting with the people he loved.
Mike was a theater professional in the truest sense of the word. He knew the power of theater to transform. It had transformed his life as a deaf man and as a deaf artist. His passion and his dedication was to make theater that creates change. He loved to act and was a visible force on the stage. As a director he had bold visions, and was insightful and generous with actors. He loved new work, whether he created it himself as a playwright or collaborated with writers to bring it to life. No one who had seen him as a solo performer of "The Seed" would ever forget the humor and humanity he so easily shared. As a teacher he brought light to the eyes of his students, whether sharing
the skills of the actor, the power of visual theater or the beauty and strength of his great love of American Sign Language.
Michael was a man committed to equal access for all and he used
his talents as a deaf interpreter to achieve this. He worked in the
legal system with Mexican immigrants who were being exploited. He was an advocate for deaf students to have equal access to
education. Most recently as the Artistic Manager of NTD, he worked to present deaf culture and American Sign Language with
clarity and power to every audience. Through his efforts, the NTD
summer school was revived for the training of young deaf actors and he established a Deaf Culture Series to present the work of deaf artists to the audience at large.
Mike is survived by his wife Linda, his dog Smoky, his mother
Vivian, a deaf sister Donna in Florida, his brother Tony in Oklahoma, his brother Ray in Long Island, and his sister Vicki in Utah.
Additionally, he has many loving nieces and nephews, cousins,
aunts, uncles, and a large loving extended family on Linda's side.
And throughout this country and throughout the world he has a
huge loving circle of friends who laughed with him, cherished him,
and will never forget him.
The road was his home
The theater was his heart
A place to be together
Even when apart
His gifts and love are timeless
Ever present
Always here
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