Michael James Raley

On the morning of August 19th, the wonderful life of Michael James Raley ended after a long battle with cancer. Mike was born on January 6th, 1948 in St. Louis, Missouri to Burch and Elizabeth Raley. Mike was raised with six other brothers in a country setting on the rural outskirts of Little Rock that was made for a family of boys. There were woods all around and a lake at the end of the road. Camping, softball, soap box cars made the appearance of "Our Gang" in real life. There were many good memories of those days. He played ball with his brothers and neighbors, hiked in the forests, played with dogs, rode bicycles and read books. Mostly he read. He developed a fondness for reading at an early age and was reading the classics in middle school. After high school, Mike was involved in civil rights, human rights and workers rights protests. He was an intense fighter for these causes. He was drafted into the Army and stationed in Germany where he met his first wife Margaret. He returned to Arkansas with Margaret and their daughter Anna. He returned to the States and worked in the steel mills of Chicago. He later moved to Fayetteville, Arkansas and worked for the University of Arkansas. He once told his brother that, while working as a janitor, he corrected the grammar on a memo written by the dean of one of the colleges at the U of A. Perhaps that was the reason he decided to go to college there, where he earned a degree in education. Prior to that, he worked with troubled kids at a halfway house in Fayetteville where he felt he greatly benefited those children with a tough-love guidance. Some came back and thanked him after leaving the facility. After their divorce, Michael married his second wife, Elau. They moved to Douglas, Arizona where he taught high school English for several years. Afterwards, he and Elau purchased a motor-home in Minnesota and spent several years camping in Arizona, Arkansas and Minnesota. Mike was a very conscientious, curious and entertaining individual, well traveled and well versed in history. He was loved by his family and friends and was compassionate and kind to all. He especially loved his two dogs Whoople and Dixie. He will be greatly missed. Mike was preceded in death by his parents Burch and Betty, and by brothers Burch Jr. and Kevin. He is survived by his beloved wife, Elau Zahner; children, Anna (Joey) Cagle, Bill (Donna) Raley; stepdaughter, Stephanie (Jesse) Ross; grandchildren, Courtney (Christian) Loeschel, Brittany Cagle, Justin Cagle, Breezy Cagle, and Anneliese McCartney Ross; sister-in-law, Susan Raley; brothers, Steve (Melinda) Raley, Dennis (Wendy) Raley, Mark (Tammy) Raley, Patrick Raley; nieces, Amelia, Shannon, Megan, Robin, and numerous cousins. Mike requested that his body be donated to the University of Minnesota for the benefit of medical science.