Michael Lawrence Rothery

MESA – Michael Lawrence Rothery passed away suddenly on January 25, 2023, at the age of 68 years. He was a loving life partner, father, grandfather, brother and uncle.

He is survived by his life partner, Gretchen House; his daughters, Diana Rothery (Eric Ashley) and Katie Rothery; his grandchildren, Samuel Rothery-Ashley and Abra Rothery-Ashley; his sister Sue (Richard) Dyer; nephews Jason, Adam, Conner, and Carson; and nieces Justine and Peyton.

He was preceded in death by his parents, Jack and May; his brother, Danny; and Uncle Ed.

Mike was born in St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada on April 12, 1954. When he was seven years old his family drove across country to move to California. Mike often talked about that trip and the drive across country in their 1957 VW Bug, which is still in the garage, his next retirement project.

His love of cars and airplanes began young and shaped his life. His passion for restoring classic Porsche cars, flying his Mooney, and playing music filled his life. Whether restoring old high-performance vehicles, fine tuning anything and everything on his airplane, or practicing and playing piano and accordion, Mike did it all with a sense of humor, an intense level of perfection, and a ton of patience.

Mike’s daughters and grandchildren were his greatest joys. Any time spent with his girls meant the world to him and they made him so proud. He loved to laugh with them and no one understood his sense of humor like they do. He couldn’t wait to work on the VW Bug with Sammy and teach Abra how to fly the plane. He wanted them to be a part of everything he loved.

In 2006 Mike asked Gretchen, his best friend’s little sister, out on a date and the rest was history. Mike and Gretchen loved traveling to the British Virgin Islands and always dreamed of their next visit to his favorite place, Jost Van Dyke. Traveling to watch the Indy 500 each year was a thrill and spending time with friends there was also something he looked forward to.

In 2019 Mike retired from managing the service department at Porsche North Scottsdale after many years in the business with Porsche and Penske Automotive Group. He continued to work with private clients on older Porsche classics and racecars and always kept himself busy.

Mike’s friends were also his family, and his huge circle of friends extends worldwide. He was a friend and mentor to all that knew him, and even if only for a short time. He was loved by so many and will be missed by all that knew him and most of all by his family that loved him so much.

A celebration of Mike’s life will be held on February 25th, 2023 from 12:00 to 4:00 p.m. at The Monastery in Mesa. In lieu of flowers, please consider donating to the MIM, Musical Instrument Museum, Phoenix, Arizona, in Mike’s honor. https://mim.org/support-mim/