ELGIN, S.C. – God called an old solider home, Staff Sgt. Michael “Mike” F. York, U.S. Army, retired, 77, went home to be with the Lord Dec. 21, 2008, in Elgin, S.C. Born Frederick Edwin Bourque, Aug. 12, 1931, in Calais, he was the fourth son of Alfred and Evelyn Grace (Somers) Bourque Sr. Mike had joined siblings Kenneth, Robert and Steven. A year later, another boy was born to the family, Alfred Jr., but May 3, 1933, a fire broke out in the house, and his mom wrapped Mike and threw him out the window so he could be saved. The rest of his family perished in the fire, along with his mom, siblings and grandmother. Mike was badly burned and stayed in the hospital for almost a year. With no next of kin, they set out to get a family for him and Nora York took this badly burned boy. Her son was called Frederick also, so she called her new son, Michael. He finally had a family. His brother, Frederick, went into World War II as a fighter pilot and was Maine’s first casualty. So Mike vowed then he was going to be in the service too. He wanted to follow Frederick’s footsteps. He graduated from Higgins Institute, Charleston, and joined the Marines and served with the first division in Korea. He was wounded in the Battle of Chosin Reservoir. After his enlistment, he married Madeline Turner and raised her two children, Rodney and Diane. He missed the service life so he re-enlisted in the U.S. Army. He was in the Special Forces and was sent to Vietnam. He received another Purple Heart for being wounded again in Vietnam, but he continued and made the Army his life. He retired April 1, 1979. His medals were many and he completed 28 years with the military. He and his wife resided in Charleston until her passing. Mike was a widower and met and married Jo Ann Mardany, also a widow, from New Jersey. They were married in St. John’s, Bangor. They resided in Charleston until 2004, when they moved to South Carolina. During the 10 years of their marriage, he became a writer of poetry and non-fiction. He had been published to date 40 times. He also had two songs to his fame, plus many water color paintings. Though Mike suffered with a bad leg and constant pain, he was always busy and quite happy. Mike lived his life as a great warrior and solider, and always under Gods command. He will be sadly missed, especially by his wife, Jo Ann; stepdaughters, Annette Stevens of Lugoof, S.C., and Sandra Nygaard and husband, Michael, of New York; and granddaughter, Jennifer Hinson and husband, Michael, of Kershaw, S.C. His family held a constant vigil at his side for 10 days while Mike fought his greatest battle. His wife and Annette, plus the priest and chaplain were by his side until God called him home. He leaves many friends and family, especially Burrill Bridge of Hermon and Jake Bishop of Massachusetts. Funeral services were held in Columbia, S.C., with a Mass held at his parish church, Our Lady of the Hills. Burial with full military honors will be held in January at Fort Jackson Veterans’ Cemetery. The world mourns a great hero.
MICHAEL ‘MIKE’ F. YORK
