Death Of A Hero
This week our community lost a great and largely unsung hero.
Michael MacLeod, co-founder and chair of Public Interest Data, Inc (PIDI), died on Wednesday leaving behind his wife Whitney, his daughter Kafi, and a legion of friends and causes whose lives he touched for the better.
I don’t use the term ‘hero’ lightly. In our field I generally reserve the term for those few who understand and put into practice the responsibility that comes with success.
By any measure of human endeavor Mike was both successful and responsible.
- From our work together on John Anderson’s 1980 presidential campaign to his years as a colleague at Craver, Mathews, Smith & Co., he proved an able adviser and strategist.
- From a business standpoint, Public Interest Data, the database firm he and Del Clark co-founded in 1987, grew, prospered and was acquired by Blackbaud in 2011.
- As a mentor, he patiently — and usually with great charm and wit — devoted years to teaching, advising and nurturing a generation of fundraisers.
- As a friend, whether in times of trouble or moments of joy he was always there. Always ready to lend a hand, or defuse a difficult situation with his sage advice and wry humor.
- As a volunteer, he gave, without fanfare, literally decades of service to causes that mattered greatly to him. Among them Amnesty International … Oxfam America … and The Center for Victims of Torture.
Each of us whose life was touched by Mike has a hole in our heart today.
Roger
P.S. For those in the New York area, services will be held tomorrow, Saturday, November 23 in New York City at St. Ignatius Loyola, 980 Park Avenue, at 12:00 p.m.
For those in the Washington, D.C. area, a service will be held on Monday the 25h at 10:00 a.m. at Holy Trinity Church, 3513 N St NW in Georgetown.
12 responses to “Death Of A Hero”
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I raise my glass.
Thank you Roger. Michael was one of those rare individuals who saw clearly, spoke with great honesty and integrity, and was unfailingly gracious and kind. I treasure the years of friendship, support, advice and encouragement he gave me. He was a true gentleman and will be deeply missed. I do, indeed, have a hole in my heart.
Roger, thank you for posting this. I admired Mike, and enjoyed know him, so very, very much. This is indeed a great loss.
Roger,
Thanks for this. “Hero” is a most appropriate description. I shared many a lunch at Sam and Harry’s with Michael and always came away a little more inspired about the importance of the work we all do. We will miss him but we are all better people because he was a part of our lives.
I’m so sorry for your loss. And, what a huge loss it is.
As one of the lucky people to have been mentored by Mike, I am very grateful. He was so encouraging, while pushing us to stretch and grow.
What a beautiful and fitting tribute. He interviewed me and he is the reason I chose to work at PIDI over 5 years ago!. Indeed a loss to us all.
Thanks you for posting Roger— a beautiful and brilliant and gentle man– the very definition of a friend and a mentor and citizen of the world.
I’m deeply saddened. Thank you, Roger, for the wonderful tribute to our friend.
I first got to know Mike beginning in 1981, when Roger hired into CMS two casualties of the 1980 presidential election — Mike and myself. I quickly came to admire his standout wit and wisdom. He wasn’t a bad guy for a Republican, I concluded (a Republican was a much different creature in those days). We even came to share the same barber, a woman who was a very dear friend to us both.
Over the years we went separate ways, but so often I found myself coming across Mike’s footsteps, and I was continually reminded of and impressed by his generous contribution of time and service to the wide number of causes, large and small, most of them about people in need or marginalized or aggrieved, to which he was committed.
A humanist, a true gentleman and a class act.
I was one of the lucky people that Michael mentored and helped. I will never forget his support and his kind words, he was a great man.
Thank you Roger for such a true tribute. Having Michael as a friend and mentor was a rare gift that I was deeply thankful for. He indeed made us all better people through his example. I will miss him.