Michael Yourshaw, beloved father of five children, good friend and inspiration to many, died on May 23, 2023 at Advanced Healthcare of Aurora, Colorado at the age of 81. He lived a full and active life up until the onset of a very aggressive bacterial infection three months prior to his death.
Michael was born on September 5, 1941 in Washington DC to Elizabeth and Mike Yourshaw, and raised in Arlington and Falls Church, Virginia. He is survived by his three younger sisters: Betsy English, Kathy Woller, and Barbara Peters; his five children: Ivan Yourshaw, Erik Yourshaw, Alexis Sanders, Amanda Sanders, and Christopher Sanders; and 8 grandchildren: Erik’s children Thunder, Steel, Heaven, Jewel, Love, and Mercy Yourshaw; Ivan’s daughter Sarah E. Yourshaw; and Christopher’s son Michael Xu Sanders.
Childhood activities that he enjoyed included Boy Scouts, and participating in a Unitarian youth group. Michael attended Catholic elementary schools and then Gonzaga College High School in Washington, DC. However, as a teenager he rejected his Catholic upbringing and religion in general, and was expelled from Gonzaga in his senior year, graduating from Falls Church High School in 1959. That pivotal decision was illustrative of his character. Throughout his life he was curious, adventurous, and restless. He could also be rebellious and obstinate. Never content to follow the expectations laid out for him by family, nor by traditions or conventions with which he disagreed, he thought for himself and doggedly forged his own way in life.
Michael was a staunch advocate for the value of lifelong education, and demonstrated the virtues of continuous self-reinvention and self-improvement. The first member of his working-class family to attend college, Michael matriculated at Harvard University in 1959. He graduated in 1963 with a B.A. in English, specializing in Middle English. Over the years he often fondly recalled his time at Harvard, and would regale anyone who would listen with anecdotes about his adventures with the close friends he made there.
Michael was actively involved in the early days of computing in the 1960s. He worked as a computer programmer for the United Fruit Company in 1963-1964 in Boston. In 1965 he enlisted in the US Air Force and served as a computer programmer on UNIVAC systems at Tinker Air Force Base in Oklahoma until 1968. From 1968 to 1969 he worked as a communications computer programmer at the NASA Electronic Research Center in Cambridge, MA.
In 1969 he enrolled in Harvard Law School, where he was an editor of the Harvard Law Review. He earned his JD in 1971 and then embarked on a long career as an attorney specializing in telecommunications law with prestigious law firms in Washington DC. From 1971-1983 he was an Associate and then Partner at the law firm Kirkland & Ellis. From 1983-1999 he was a Partner at Wiley, Rein & Fielding.
In 1999 he moved to Fort Collins, Colorado and embarked on a new career in line with his life-long passion for science and technology. Between 1999-2006, he worked as a computer programmer for Engineering Computer Consultants and Neaera Consulting, startup companies founded by his nephew, Tony English. During this time period he also went back to school at Colorado State University, graduating with a B.S. in Biochemistry in 2006. Between 2006-2016 he studied Human Genetics with Stanley Nelson’s research group at the University of California, Los Angeles, earning a PhD in 2014 at the age of 72. Following a postdoctoral fellowship in Computational Biology at UCLA, he moved back to Colorado in 2016 where he worked as a bioinformatician in the Colorado Center for Personalized Medicine at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus in Aurora. In 2022 he was promoted to Instructor in the Department of Pathology. Michael thrived on hard work, and continued to work full-time up until the end of his life.
Throughout his life, Michael was very active in numerous social and recreational pursuits. During the 1980’s he was an active member of the Washington Apple Pi community of amateur computer enthusiasts. He enjoyed outdoor activities such as rock climbing, hiking, and skiing, as well as folk dancing, attending classical music concerts, gardening and gourmet cooking. During recent years he was an enthusiastic theater patron and generous supporter of local theater in the greater Denver and Fort Collins areas. He is also remembered for his love of playing European-style board games, and his fondness for cats. During the COVID pandemic, his constant companion was his beloved cat, Kassandra (who now resides with his son Ivan).
Celebration of Life
A Celebration of Life will be held for Michael on Saturday, July 15th, 2023 in Fort Collins. There will be a non-denominational service followed by a reception and lunch at the same location.
Reception including lunch: Noon – 3PM.
In lieu of flowers, donations can be made in Michael’s name to any of the following organizations: