As Michael's best friend of 22+ years, this has been incredibly difficult to process. I can confirm he died of natural causes (heart failure); everyone is shocked.

He was traveling in Rome, so it was quite a process to head there immediately and manage everything, especially using my own brand of Spanish/Italian language (which is basically Spanish, but I just loudly extend the vowel sounds at the end of words, throw my arms around a lot more, and say "ciao." ).

Here is his memorial site if anybody is interested, and contributions are welcome. His parents have enjoyed reading all of the kind tributes.

I know that he felt a sense of community within FlyerTalk; points and travel were one of his greatest passions, and not everyone understands what it means to redeem 110k for ANA First, but around here they do, and that meant the world to him.