| CONDOLENCES (GuestBook) |
| CONDOLENCES (GuestBook) |
1/2/2021 Kathy &Steve Kolodziej
Norfolk, ma, United States
Ray and Judy, please know our hearts are with you at this difficult time. Steve and Kathy Kolodziej (Jim's sister and brother in law).
1/2/2021 janet L pratt
CANTON, MA, United States
So sorry to see that your son has passed. He certainly made a difference in the world with his accomplishments. Janet L. Pratt
1/3/2021 Soledad Bautista
Rizal, Region, Philippines
Eternal rest grant unto Michael O Lord and let perpetual light shine upon him. May he rest in peace. Our condolences and prayers for the bereaved family. We also lost our son Miggy recently due to complications of Spinal Muscular Atrophy.
1/3/2021 Deb Walther
Somerville, MA, USA
I am heartbroken at the loss of Mike, aka "The Notorious Mikey C". He was my partner in SharePoint/Teams at Solid, a drinking buddy and fellow skier. I loved sharing the pics of my puppy and showing Mike how cute she is while we were working form home. Mike's willingness to share with all of us his experience with Muscular Dystrophy helped us all put a face to the disease. It was an honor and a huge pleasure to know and work with Mike. "No one leaves you when they live in your heart and mind". I will miss him dearly.
1/4/2021 Howard Lerner
Canton, MA, US
Want you to know our thoughts and prayers are with you during this difficult time.
1/4/2021 Louise Perry
Cambridge, MA, USA
Dear Ray and Judith, It was an honor to have known Michael, I worked with him at Solid for 3 years, and I especially remember running with him at the J.P.Morgan corporate challenge road race through Boston in 2018. Nothing held him back! With deep condolences, Louise
1/4/2021 Samantha DeTore
Braintree, Massachusetts, United States
I am heartbroken to learn of Michael's passing. I had the pleasure of working with Michael at Solid and supporting his internship program. Aside from his sense of humor and positivity, I always appreciated Michael's commitment to raise awareness and educate others about Duchenne. His story (and his willingness to share it so openly) certainty touched all of us at Solid and will be a part of his legacy. Wishing peace and comfort to the Counterman family and to all of us whose lives were enriched by knowing Michael.
1/4/2021 margaret m mccarthy
Canton, MA, United States
Dear Judy, I am so sorry for your loss. Although I didn't know him personally, he sounds like an amazing person. You did a great job of raising such a remarkable son. Know that my thoughts and prayers are with you and your family. Sincerely, Margaret McCarthy
1/4/2021 Ron Chorzewski
Concord, New Hampshire, USA
To Michael's family, especially, Judy and Kevin, who I had the pleasure of meeting while making our annual advocacy trips to Washington DC, I send my most sincere sympathies. I have some great memories with Michael and I appreciated his sincerity and tender approach to life. My favorite memory is a story where Mike and I walked from Old Ebbitt's for dinner. He was able to keep his wheelchair in stride with me as we walked side by side to the restaurant; maneuvering accessible curbs. We spoke without any interruption for the duration of the walk. At the restaurant, Michael shared with me some of his challenges of living with DMD and how much he wanted a girlfriend. He was a great person whose strength was somewhat hidden by a wheelchair. I would also like to share that Michael's brother Kevin had a big impact on me and my daughter Kristen during a different trip to DC. Kevin spoke with such pride of his brother and set such a great example by going to DC to advocate for his brother and every other kid held back by DMD. I am so glad to hear that he is in medical school. His compassion will make him a truly gifted physician. Please know that I am going to keep Michael and your family in my prayers. Here is the prayer that I will offer for Michael: For this reason I kneel before the Father, from whom every family in Heaven and on earth is named, that he may grant you in accord with the riches of his glory to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in the inner self, and that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, rooted and grounded in love, may have strength to comprehend with all the holy ones what is the breadth and length and height and depth of Christ’s love, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, so that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. Now to him who is able to accomplish far more than we ask or imagine, by the power at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations, I pray so for Michael Counterman, his brother Kevin, and his mother Judy. And this is my prayer: that your love may increase ever more and more in knowledge and every kind of perception, to discern what is of value, so that you may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ for the glory and praise of God. The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with all of you. Amen
1/4/2021 Jean (Andrewski)Belmont
Marshfield, Ma, USA
Michael will be sorely missed. I always looked forward to his stories during our Festivus sessions after Christmas dinner.
1/4/2021 Jim McGinty
Norwood, MA, US
One of the coolest guys, maybe THE coolest guy I have ever met in my life. I have never known any man who lived a fuller or more purposeful life, in spite of the lousy hand dealt him, than Michael Counterman. Never complained.. Lived strictly for the day.. Never thought about tomorrow. A quiet sense of humor.. always questioning when you came out with a statement or opinion.. His head buried in his cell phone or working over his meticulously kept baseball stats, he was still taking in everything around him even though you thought his mind was elsewhere.. That knowing look he'd give you when he raised his head.. He'd always pause with that slight grin on his face before making a reply to your comment, wondering if he should say what he felt.. If you could take the truth or not... But he'd always tell you the truth.. He'd always let you know what he was thinking. In spite of the curves life had thrown at him he graduated Canton high school and then went on to get a college degree at UMASS Boston, my old alma mater where I'd suggested he go and he actually took my advice. Then he gets out of college and you figure that's the end of the climb, in his condition he's achieved his goal.. But instead he lands a job in a startup company in Cambridge that's working on a cure for his disease. He's traveled around the country to speak at different Parent Project conventions and give hope to others that Duchenne's was not going to stop them from living but was just a minor irritant along the way. He met Jerry Lewis once (He wasn't impressed) He idolized Tom Brady. He saw sunrises and sunsets on Cape Cod where he had a cottage. He swam in the ocean. He felt the thrill of skiing down a hill up north with the help of his friends at his company. He's been to Disneyland. He spent Friday nights up in Somerville with his college buddies drinking beers. I was fascinated by his knowledge of politics, his depth of understanding. He knew more of what was going on around him in the world than most people my age. He saw Concord Bridge and wheeled around Lexington Green where the American Revolution began. We drank beers and ate pizza at the historic Doyle's in Jamaica Plain before they tore it down. We stopped in a bar at Patriot Place on a cold fall night when there was nobody around and Steve Burton, the TV sports caster, was doing a live feed at 6:15. Mike told him he wanted to be a sportscaster too and Steve pushed tables around and knocked pepper shakers on the floor to get his chair over near the window in front of the stadium so Mike could sit right next to him during the 6 o'clock news and get a feel for the cameras and the lights when they came on. He went everywhere.. he did everything. He loved his parents madly and his brother Kevin, who Mike told me he was really proud of when we were standing on the sidelines over at BC High watching Kevin play football years ago. I always wondered where Mike would have ended up if he didn't have that stupid chair to drag around with him... But God gave him that chair and said "Do what you can with it"... And he did. ...And he's with God now.
1/5/2021 The Caulfield Family
Canton, MA, US
Dear Judy, Ray & Kevin, Michael was an extraordinary young man. In spite of incredible obstacles, Michael through his firm determination, will and with the absolute loving support of his family managed to live his life with much purpose. I am so sorry for your enormous loss. I hope you will find solace in the memories you share of this remarkable son and brother.
1/5/2021 DONGSHENG DUAN
Columbia, Missouri, United States
Michael, You are my hero. You will stay in my heart and remind me that we need to work harder to save Duchenne boys!
1/5/2021 Friends from Verizon
Acton, MA, United States
Dear Ray, Judith & Family, Our thoughts and prayers are with you during this time of sorrow. We didn't know Michael personally; now we wish we had known him as such a nice young man. May he rest in peace and his memory be a blessing to the family. Sincerely, Janice Bushell, Nee-Ben Gee, Michael Lane, Stephen Liu and Vishnu Shukla
1/6/2021 Barbara Crowley-Carbone
Canton, MA, United States
So sorry to learn of Michael’s passing. I have fond memories of working with him at the JFK. My thoughts and prayers are with you all.
1/7/2021 Seda Filenko
San Diego, CA, United States
Dear Counterman Family, I am so sorry to hear about Michael's passing. He was such an amazing and bright presence in the Duchenne community. When I met him at my first PPMD, my son was newly diagnosed. I was nervous about all the new faces and trying to keep track of myriads of information. But a after a quick chat with Michael, his brilliance and energy reassured me that everything is going to be alright. He made our community better and will truly be missed. May he be at peace.
1/11/2021 tony carbone
WALPOLE, MA, United States
Dear Ray, I was so sorry to hear of Michael's passing... I know how much he meant to you and how much you loved your son... There is nothing that I can say to take away your sorrow, but in my world, I absolutely believe that Michael is and will always be with you... I know that may not be much comfort right now, but in time you will feel his spirit near you... It has happened to me with my loved ones who have passed and it happens when it's least expected... Anyway, be well my old friend and let's stay in touch... All my best, Tony