On Monday, September 9, 2024, Michael Layne, loving husband and father of two young women with children of their own, passed away suddenly at home at the age of 71.

Mike was a simple man, born in Charleston, West Virginia on October 19, 1952. He carried his birth and rearing in the hills of West Virginia with him every day of his life. Mike first attended a two room schoolhouse that had an outhouse, outdoor pump for water, and a coal burning pot belly stove for heat. His family lived "up the creek" and his playground was in the hills regardless of season. In the spring he'd help plant and tend the garden until harvest time later in the summer. He collected eggs from the chicken coop and learned to harvest a chicken for his mother to cook for Sunday supper. Each year his family raised a hog in a pen behind the house and every day he carried a bucket of scraps to the pen to feed the pig. In summer, he picked blackberries near an abandoned coal mine and carried them home in a bucket for his mom to make into jam. Fall found him in the hills with the single-shot shotgun his dad gave him for his 13thbirthday and his beagle, Chopper. Together they searched for rabbits, or he'd sit alone at the base of a tree in hopes of bringing home a squirrel or two for dinner. In winter he would set traps along the creek for muskrat which he would skin and sell the pellet for 10 cents each, the only source of money he had until he became the paper boy for the neighborhood.

Like many young men from the hills, after high school, at the age of 17, Mike enlisted in the Air Force, and after three years he received an early discharge so he could attend West Virginia University, graduating in 1978 with a degree in business administration. On September 9, 1978, he married Patricia Hollie Wyatt, and they soon moved to Houston, Texas where they raised two daughters, Michelle and Kaitie. After working 25 years as an auditor in oil and gas, Mike made a career change and became a teacher of 4th and 5th graders. Of his two careers, he was most proud of being an educator.

Because of his humble beginnings, Mike lived a life full of simple pleasures that included:

· Serving his country in the Air Force.

· Holding Michelle and, later Kaitie for the first time.

· Reading bedtime stories each night to his daughters.

· Coloring Easter eggs and carving the Halloween pumpkin on the kitchen table.

· Watching The Wizard of Oz whenever it was on TV and skipping around the living room singing "Ding-Dong! The Witch is Dead" with his daughters.

· Taking the girls to the back of Greatwood, before houses were built, and letting them steer the car while sitting in his lap while he handled the gas and breaks.

· Teaching the girls to shoot, then taking them on their first hunt in the same area in the back of Greatwood.

· Camping as Touch the Sky, Running Rabbit, and Crying Wolf with their Indian Princess tribe, the Karankawa, their father-daughter group at the YMCA, aka Daddy-Daughter Bonding!

· Listening to ZZ Top playing on the way to camping in a state park with the Karankawa and laughing when Kaitie exclaimed, "Daddy, I want a pearl necklace!"

· Participating in the 'Father-Daughter dance' at Miss Reni's dance recitals.

· Coaching Michelle's basketball team and Kaitie's soccer team at the YMCA.

· Never missing a swim meet, volleyball game, basketball game, or track meet.

· Finding any excuse to go to James Coney Island for hotdogs and chili cheese fries. He bragged he ate 10 hotdogs in one sitting with his buddies at Columbia Gas, the company that transferred him to Texas.

· Hating trips to the beach yet suffering in the shade to be close to family.

· Suppressing a laugh on the way home from vacation in Colorado when Michelle asked to stop at the place with the pink neon sign flashing "Colorado." He made an age appropriate excuse as to why we couldn't stop at the strip joint for dinner.

· Instilling a love of math by turning swim meets into a math game and wondering if that game motivated Kaitie to pursue engineering.

· Making weekends special by cooking a breakfast of "summer cake" (cinnamon rolls) and eggs.

· Tilling the garden each February then planting tomatoes, beans, and peppers.

· Canning the tomatoes in May so he could enjoy homemade spaghetti and meatballs on his birthday in October.

· Hunting for waterfowl on the Trinity River marshes or for snow geese on the Katy prairie with Robert Wyatt and our first Golden Retriever, Bart.

· Stopping on the way back from the hunt to buy powdered donuts and see who could "wedge" the most donuts.

· Heading to West Virginia the day after Thanksgiving to deer hunt with his brothers. Don't worry, Bambie was safe.

· Playing Monopoly for hours and winning by using his own set of rules.

· Tearing up every time he heard the first few chords of Maggie May.

· Bleeding blue and gold for his beloved Mountaineers.

· Tailgating with friends at Mountaineer Field, at least three Saturdays every fall.

· Cheering the Pride of West Virginia as they ran onto the field for their traditional pre-game show.

· Singing Country Roads with 60,000 of his closest friends and every time he passed the Wild, Wonderful West Virginia sign while driving "home."

· Saying, "Oh well, there is always next year!" after a bad season… unfortunately there were many!

· Teaching the girls to fish for trout in the Rocky Mountains, including a lesson on how to gut and clean what they caught.

· Saving to put his daughters through college without student loans.

· Sitting for hours in the shade at the Soggy Dollar Bar, Jost Van Dyke, British Virgin Islands, drinking Painkillers, while blissfully taking in the turquoise water.

· Fulfilling his dream of owning an RV, then camping with his family, vacationing in Colorado, and taking the RV to a WVU football weekend.

· Fibbing about Kaitie's age so the entire family could white water raft the Gauley or Taylor Rivers or horseback ride in the Rockies or the New River Gorge.

· Learning the recipe to the Wyatt version of Old Fashions to carry on the tradition.

· Sitting down to watch the "George Bideo!" with the girls every Christmas. (aka "It's a Wonderful Life!")

· Kicking off the holiday season watching Christmas Vacation with his girls.

· Becoming a teacher of 4th and 5th graders, then seeing his students become young adults with children of their own.

· Becoming a beekeeper and harvesting honey which he gave away to family, friends, and neighbors.

· Using old fence wood, license plates, and rusted tin roofing material found along the side of the road to make birdhouses and birdfeeders.

· Sitting in "his chair" with a 90 pound Golden Retriever in his lap.

· Saying "I like what I like" so don't even think of suggesting PF Chang's over Hunan Garden, unless you are Kristin McHenry or Mikey Scanlan for whom he'd make an exception.

· Living a frugal life, never wanting or needing a fancy car. After all, for years he rode a scooter the 2.4 miles to his elementary school (once wearing a clown costume complete with white make-up and red ball on his nose). Four years later he upgraded to a Smart Car. For the most part he fit however he had to keep the sunroof open so his head would not hit the ceiling.

· Holding his grandsons, his legacy, for the first time.

Mike is survived by his loving wife Patti, and their two daughters Michelle and Kaitie. He will be dearly missed by his siblings Connie, Terry, Margie, and Kenny. He was a devoted brother, husband, father, and grandpappy to his grandsons, Campbell Layne English, John Michael English, and Michael Wyatt Scanlan, each sharing Mike's name.

Mike will be celebrated on his birthday, Saturday, October 19, 2024, by his tailgate crew near Mountaineer Field at Milan Puskar Stadium on the campus of West Virginia University. Join us as we sing Happy Birthday, Take Me Home Country Roads, Sweet Caroline, and Maggie May if you can. We can be easily found in the parking lot in front of the Monongalia County WIC Office, 1000 Elmer Prince Dr, Morgantown, WV 26505.

In keeping with Mike's wishes, a party will be held to honor his life on Saturday, November 2, 2024, from 2:00-5:00pm at Greatwood Club House and Rec Center, 7225 Greatwood Parkway, Sugar Land, Texas, 77479. Mike wanted a celebration, not a funeral, so please wear your best casual party outfit – bonus points if it's a WVU t-shirt. We also ask that his family, friends, and neighbors come prepared with Mike Layne stories to share as we each knew a different and unique side of The Big Guy. We plan on recording these stories not only for us but to also share with his grandsons, so they learn and remember the man who loved us all so very, very much.

To honor Mike, please consider a donation in his name to the general scholarship fund in support of West Virginia University's Mountaineer Athletic Club (2S066). To donate, please follow the below instructions:

1. Use the URL, https://give.wvu.edu/give/415566/#!/donation/checkout

2. Choose the amount of how much you would like to donate.

3. Select the box: "Dedicate my donation in honor or in memory of someone"

4. Select "In memory of" and type Mike Layne into the name fields.

5. For recipient's email, please enter Patti Layne's email (phwlayne@gmail.com) so we can send a thank you.

6. For "What would you like your donation to support?" Please select the dropdown menu and enter the code 2S066 then select Mountaineer Athletic Scholarship – 2S066.

7. Continue filling out the form with your information.

If you prefer to send a check in the mail, please be sure to include 'In memory of Mike Layne' in the memo line and mail to: Mountaineer Athletic Club, West Virginia University, PO Box 877, Morgantown, WV 26507-0877.

Condolence messages may be written for the Layne family at www.garmanycarden.com

Arrangements are under the direction of Garmany & Carden Funeral Directors, 1201 4th Street, Rosenberg, TX 77471 (281)342-4671.