On Friday, June 28, 2024, Michael Reginald Pew departed this life comfortably at home in Alna, with his family at his side. Born on July 21, 1937, in London, England, he was preceded in death by his parents, Reginald and Maude Pew.
Over the course of his lifetime, Michael survived the Nazi blitz of bombs and rockets raining down on London during WWII. Educated at Woolwich Polytechnic at the University of London, he received his Bachelor of Science degree in mathematics in 1959. The following year, he immigrated to the U.S., sailing aboard the SS United States and landing in New York City. He brought with him a dream to build a new life and his incredible English sense of humor.
Intending to cross the country for a job working with mainframe computers in San Francisco, his car only got him as far as Kansas City. He never trusted a used car salesman ever again. Over the next couple of years, Michael made a huge U-turn, first working in Kansas City, then transferring to Chicago, but ultimately ending up in Boston. Life threw him a googly, as they say in cricket. We are all the better for it. Although he never made it to San Francisco, he loved visiting the Bay Area.
In Boston, while working for the Mitre Corporation, he met the love of his life, Elaine (née Swide), while Christmas caroling, marrying in 1964. They spent the next 60 years together. In 1966, Michael and Elaine moved for work with RCA, settling in Cherry Hill, N.J., just across the Delaware River from Philadelphia. There, life brought forth two children, Keith in 1968 and Michele in 1970.
Never one to stay still for long, the family moved to Kensington, Md., in 1972 after Michael took a position at the Library of Congress, where he became the associate registrar at the Copyright Office.
After a 25-year career on Capitol Hill, Michael retired to the New England countryside of Alna, in 1999, where he enjoyed reading, tending to his garden, traveling, and cultivating deep friendships – a return, so to speak, to his English roots.
Truly, if any man has lived the American dream, it was Michael R. Pew.
Michael is survived by his wife of 59 years, Elaine Pew, of Alna; his son, Keith and his wife, Gwendolyn, of Boulder, Colo.; and his daughter, Michele, of Washington, D.C. Michael had the blessing of three grandchildren, Sylvia, Alexander, and Benjamin, for whom he always had a good dad joke.
A celebration of Michael’s life will be held in the fall, date and place TBD.
