Michael Joseph Szilagyi, age 56 of Franklin, Tennessee, passed away October 23, 2017 in Destin, Florida.
He grew up in Pontiac, Illinois and graduated from Pontiac Township High School in 1979. He was a decorated combat veteran of the US Army’s famed 82nd Airborne Division, where he was deployed on Operation Urgent Fury “the invasion of Grenada”. He graduated Summa Cum Laude with a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration and an associate’s degree in Construction Technology from Southern Illinois University. Mike worked side-by-side with his Dad in residential construction, and for many years in commercial construction as a Construction Manager.
Always a most generous and deeply caring man, he was involved in numerous charitable and non-profit organizations including Habitat for Humanity International, an organization that seeks to put God’s love into action by bringing people together to build homes, communities and hope for the less fortunate. Mike donated his time and many talents to help build homes in Guatemala, Cambodia, India, Nepal, Hungary, and Ethiopia. He also volunteered in Peru with Light Up the World, a humanitarian organization dedicated to providing lighting to poor people in remote areas who relied on kerosene lamps or wood fires.
He began his lifelong passion for service in his early 30’s with Rotary International. Mike was a loving, devoted family man and friend. He is survived by his parents, Michael and Lois Burton Silagi; his sister, Lisa Mae Szilagyi Judd; niece, Angela Marie Kutchera; nephews Christopher Michael Judd and Nicholas Andrew Judd and his beloved partner of 22 years, Katherine Kelly O’Connor all of Franklin Tennessee, as well as other loving family members.
Visitation will be 5-8 PM on Saturday, October 29, 2017 at the Williamson Memorial Funeral Home. Funeral services will be held at 2:00 PM on Sunday, October 29, 2017 with a visitation one hour prior to the service at the Franklin First United Methodist Church Historic Sanctuary. Dr. Lynn Hill will be officiating. Interment will be at Williamson Memorial Gardens with veteran military honors. Family and friends, including fellow veteran buddies, will serve as pallbearers and honorary pallbearers. Memorials may be made to Habitat for Humanity International or Habitat for Humanity Hungary. WILLIAMSON MEMORIAL FUNERAL HOME, 615 794-2289.
