07/22/2023
For those who have not heard the sad news, Mike McLaughlin--father of Jack McLaughlin, one of our Battalion alumni in the class of 2021--passed away July 20. Mike had battled a brain tumor for the last 2 years.
Mike started attending Battalion with Jack in 2016 and--despite the workload of running several businesses--quickly became a regular on camping trips and Tuesday nights. He was a loving and faithful friend to many of the other dads and a fun, witty presence on many long hikes and around numerous campfires. Among many happy memories was the Tuesday night Jack and Mike demonstrated safe cooking techniques through a humorous action special skit showing many wrong ways to prepare food safely while camping. Make no mistake, Mike took safety very seriously. In fact, he was the first one to notice a rattle snake in the middle of the trail while we were hiking and immediately went to the front of the line and stopped the hike while the snake crossed the path. That was Mike, always looking out for us.
Mike loved (and now loves even more completely) Jesus deeply. He so enjoyed seeing God in nature, and he had great determination to do so. In 2019 a small group of dads took our sons camping in Wind River Range in Wyoming. Mike had been healing from a shoulder injury that year, and his doctor recommended against the week-long backpacking trip at high altitude. But Mike was determined to go with Jack and the rest of us. On one memorable day, we all hiked up to a 12,000’ ridge overlook on the Continental Divide, and Mike, who had had to work hard and be especially careful of his shoulder, got down on the ground and did pushups. We'll always savor the memory of the joy he showed in that moment and on many other hiking trips.
Please keep Mrs. Helen McLaughlin and Jack and Emma in your prayers as they juggle many demands while grieving Mike's passing. May the finality and poignance of this loss help all who knew and loved Mike taste the goodness of the Gospel, and long even more deeply for the day when all of us, with unveiled faces and new eyes, can see Jesus face to face in His presence.
