Michael David Kaspari

At 5:10 PM, April 16, 2017, the compassionate heart of Michael David Kaspari, 57, of Fargo, ND, stopped beating. He was surrounded by those he loved best at Sanford Medical Center, Fargo, ND. He died from head trauma after a fall.

Mike was born March 16, 1960, to David and Sarah “Sally” Kaspari, in Fargo, ND. Mike grew up with nine brothers and sisters, and Grandpa John and Grandma Florence on the Kaspari farm near Sheldon, ND.

He graduated from Sheldon High School in 1978, attended one year at Valley City State University and three years at Moorhead State University, majoring in Chemistry with a minor in biology. Mike graduated from St Luke’s School of Nursing in 1984.

He married Tracy Mark August 22, 1980 and they had a beautiful daughter, Haley Rose, “Rosebud.”

He married Donita Naylor August 2, 1991, and they had twin daughters Camryn Daisy and Carly Rose.

Mike worked as a registered nurse at St Luke’s Emergency Room and then in the Intensive Care Unit at MeritCare. He loved caring for people. One of the most famous stories of Mike’s ICU career was when he was working as charge nurse during a blizzard. Nurses could not get to the hospital, so Mike mobilized his private cadre of nurses: wife Donita – who was not technically a Kaspari yet—, sisters Sarah and Leah, brothers Tom and Chris (who were all ICU nurses) and to round things out, sister Jane stepped in as ward clerk. During that long snowy night, two of the respiratory therapists, Jay and Casey, showed up on the unit with ‘Kaspari’ taped over their nametags. Someone questioned whether hospital policy permitted so many siblings to work on the same unit and in true Mike Kaspari style, Mike replied, “I’d work with this group every day of the week and twice on Sundays.”

His real passion for healing came out of his own struggles with addiction. He worked at Drake and Burau Counseling as Agency Director from 1992-99. In 2000, Mike co-founded First Step Recovery with Susan Stenehjem-Brown. Mike’s family always knew he had a vast capacity to care for others, but since Mike’s accident it has become clear the multitude of people in our community have been touched by his work at First Step and his advocacy for addiction treatment and counseling. When he said, “We got ya,” it meant the staff at First Step would walk that journey to recovery with the patient and family every step of the way.

Mike often joked about being a ‘pretender’ in regard to holding a diploma nursing degree yet serving as a clinical instructor for substance abuse at the UND medical school. His passion for educating future physicians about substance abuse was recognized when he received the Dean’s Special Recognition award for outstanding Volunteer Faculty at the 2012 Medical School Graduation.

Mike took great delight in family, and in their company he was happiest. Many years of camping adventures at site 59 at Camper’s Paradise in Minnesota Lakes Country created many joyful memories. Mike was ‘all-time-pitcher’ for the annual 4th of July Kaspari gathering at the family farm. He coached countless hours of girls’ soccer and softball, and was instrumental in organizing girls’ hockey in the FM area.

Mike talked his brother-in-law Ray Baker, and buddy Dale Williams into getting certified as bare-boat captains so the three of them could wreak havoc on the high seas. Instead of saying, “someday we should…” they acted on their dreams by sailing a 47-foot catamaran through the beautiful waters of the British Virgin Islands. It was dubbed the “No More Somedays Tour.” A famous moment during those escapades was when a little boy whispered to his grandmother, “Grandma, is that man a pirate?” He was pointing at Mike who was looking a bit unscrupulous with beard, do-rag, earring, several tattoos, and a dive knife strapped on his belt. Mike was, of course, delighted.

Too soon, much too soon, Mike was gone from our lives. He had a tattoo on his chest that said, Forever and it was a promise to Donita that he would never leave her. He would be so bugged that a stupid fall could separate him from his Love.

Disappointments would include; not walking his precious daughters down the aisle, or ever holding grandbabies; not getting the place at the lake or living by the water.

Alongside the terrible sadness felt by those who loved Mike, one thing is most certainly true: the world is a much better place because Mike Kaspari lived. Mike was most assuredly… one of the good guys.

He is remembered with profound love by his wife, Donita, daughters, Haley and her partner Josh Grimley, Camryn, and Carly and her partner Matt Koster, and Indiana, his lumpy old dog.
His parents, David and Sally Kaspari, Aunt Marilyn Selkirk, and siblings: Jon (Brenda), Rob (Jeanne), Tom, Sarah (Ray) Baker, Joe (Laura), Leah (Scott) Rocholl, Chris (Julie), Jane (Troy) Schuh, and Ruth (Kyle) Edgerton. He was a beloved brother-in law to Mike (Sharon) Naylor, Vicki (George) Burgoyne, Steve Naylor, and Pam Appel. He was the beloved uncle to a hoard of nieces and nephews, as well as great nieces and nephews.

Family who preceded him in death: infant brother Paul, Parents-in-law Daryle and Janet Naylor, Grandpa John and Grandma Florence Kaspari, Grandma Nola and Grandpa Ralph Selkirk, Sr., and Jack Dog.

In Lieu of flowers, please dedicate memorial gifts to First Step Recovery to establish scholarship funds for treatment.

Navigating life without Mike will be a challenge, but a family member said it best: “First, we have to be sad. Then we have to be Mike.”