Deceased August 6, 2006
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In Memory
Michael de Beer passed away on Aug. 6, 2006, apparently of a heart attack, while on a kayaking trip with his girlfriend and her family. As shown by his activism since Amherst and the testimonials his friends posted online, it is clear Mike was an extraordinarily special person.
After graduating with an interdisciplinary degree in history, philosophy and sociology, Mike spent several years working with non-governmental organizations in South Africa and England. He then directed the staff of a nonprofit technology company in San Francisco. He served as union steward and contract negotiator. He was a graduate of Direct Action and Research Training Center and was living in Richmond, where he organized a broad multifaith movement for social justice that succeeded in securing commitments from city council members and the sheriff in support of a living wage for city contractors and funding for drug rehabilitation for prisoners.
“I get very angry at systems of racism, sexism and vilification of the poor,” Mike once said when asked about his activism. “This comes out of my growing up in a family that worked against apartheid; my uncles were either imprisoned or expelled from South Africa, and my parents left before such could befall them and their children. I can see my values and anger in the choices I have made in my life—what I have done, what I have not done. They are how I chose my college major, why I travel and work in ‘dangerous’ places, why I devote many hours each week to political action and service, and my very identity as a person who is about working for social justice.”
This is the official version of Michael’s bio, which struck me as possibly the most amazing resume of a person from my Amherst class that I’ve ever seen. And then I read the more personal postings about Michael. He was philosophical, and he was curious. He loved debate, he worked for change, he was funny. He was a great storyteller and teacher.
I found an online posting of a friend of Michael’s, who says it all better than I can: “His death doesn’t make medical sense to me, and it makes even less sense theologically. I have a very hard time understanding events like Mike’s death. They make me sad, they make me angry, and they tempt me to look at the world with increased cynicism. Which is exactly the opposite of what Michael would want.
“Michael loved life with an excitement matched only by an 8-year-old on her way to Walt Disney World. The smallest things held immense joy for him: dinner and Scrabble with friends; sitting on his living room floor playing with his cats; going on an impromptu walk; being with his girlfriend; speculating about the nature of God and eternity. He lived every moment to its very fullest. And so I imagine that Michael wouldn’t like my cynical reaction to his unexpected, unfair and incomprehensible death. I imagine him saying to me, carpe diem! I imagine myself shooting him a sarcastic look, betraying my annoyance at his unyielding optimism; but I also imagine myself having to listen. Because more than anyone I know, Michael seized the day. More than anyone I know, he encouraged me to do the same. And more than anyone I know, he actually makes me think about listening to him.”
Deanna Fleysher ’96 and Min Choi ’96