Obituary of Michael R. Laitinen

Michael R. Laitinen, 62, died on Thursday May 1, 2014 at the Kaplan Family Hospice House in Danvers after a brief battle with Pancreatic Cancer. Born in Stambaugh, MI, he was the son of August and Ida Laitinen of Trout Creek, MI. He grew up in Trout Creek, and graduated from Ewen/Trout Creek High School, Class of 1970. Michael had a passion for fishing, spending much of his free time catching Large Mouth Bass and Trout in the ponds and streams of Massachusetts and New Hampshire. He also had a deep appreciation for classic American Muscle Cars, once the proud owner of a 1969 Camaro. He owned & operated McDuff’s Swimming Pool Service of Salem for the last 18 years, where he had worked for a collective total of roughly 25 years. Growing up, Michael fished and hunted the woods of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, played high school football, baseball and softball. After high school, he worked at the White Pine Copper Mine before moving to Illinois, and then to Massachusetts in 1976 where he worked at the United Shoe as well as various machine shops as a Sheet Metal Mechanic. He was skilled in machining, carpentry, woodworking, and took a special interest in refurbishing old, worn items. Michael will be remembered for his generous and friendly nature, as well as his handiness, ingenuity and innovative ideas. He is pre-deceased by his son Adam, his mother and father. He is survived by his wife, Solange Laitinen of Peabody; his brothers John Laitinen and companion June Burke of MI, James Laitinen and his wife Elaine of NH, his son Eric and his wife Melissa Laitinen of VA and their children, grandsons Avery and Jaxson Laitinen, as well as several in-laws, nieces and nephews. Relatives and friends are kindly invited to gather on Saturday May 10, 2014 for a visitation from 2 – 4 PM in the Conway, Cahill-Brodeur Funeral Home, 82 Lynn St., Peabody. A Funeral Service honoring his life will be held at 4 PM in the funeral home. Memorial donations may be made to the Kaplan Family Hospice House, c/o Caring Dimensions Hospice, 75 Sylvan St., Suite B-102, Danvers, MA 01923.