Michael Reis

[william w]

Rest in peace Michael.

[Mark Meriaux]

Digging through old photos, and here is one of Mike and Mark Lauzon (when they told him he had to "dress up" for his presentations) at Stone Expo in Atlanta in 2007.

[ronald hannah]

Michael Reis with Mike and Jane Yates, doing what he did best!

Mike Yates.jpg (184.93KiB)Viewed 1538 times

[tomdon]

I can't believe it's been 21 years. Alex, I remember when he came on board with you and you introduced him around to all of us. He has been a great asset to us all.
Our deepest condolences go out to all of his family. We will miss him greatly.
Tom Donatelli,
Eastern Marble & Granite Supply
Scotch Plains, NJ

[pmiller@hanleywood.com]

I feel I've been robbed of a friendship that was just beginning. Opportunities to mingle with Mike have been in my path throughout the last three years via show functions, council meetings, industry dinners, etc. -- but I feel as though the last time I was with him was the first time we really visited and started getting to know each other. It was just two weeks ago tomorrow at the Architect Day dinner in Vegas. I sat at the same table with him and Jenn, and visited with the two of them, Duke and Sebastiano. Afterwards, we all sat at the bar sharing a truly terrible liquorice drink that he and Sabastino insisted was good -- I begged to differ! Of course, I drank it right along with them, with Mike sitting on a barstool in the middle of our little group just smiling and laughing at my disgust. My sincere condolences to everyone that knew him well and was able to truly call him a friend. I will miss my new friend and am sad for everyone's loss.

Pamela Miller
Assoc. Show Manager
StonExpo/Marmomacc Americas

[Mark Hilbrand]

I had dinner with Mike just one week before I heard the news. I really wish I would have gave him a big hug instead of a hand shake when I said my good byes. One never knows when the last time will be the last.
We lost a very dear friend and hero to our stone industry champion. Our most heart felt condolences go out to Mike's family. I'm sure there will be a fund made up for his families loss.
Money can never replace their family's loss, but I hope that we all give with our hearts as a testament to the great man he was.

Justin Hong
President
Diamax Industries Inc.

[UnitedMarble]

I'm so deeply saddened for Michael's family and friends, and for Alex and the StoneWorld team, for their tremendous loss.

Michael was so gracious to me when I entered the stone business in 2007 at the age of 20. He was always so generous with his time and energy - always eager to talk shop with me at the trade shows and workshops, and he was always the first to introduce me to someone I hadn't yet met.

He had so much passion for the struggles and triumphs of our industry, and he was a tireless champion of the honest fabricators out there. He will be greatly missed.

John Kilfoyle
United Marble Fabricators
Watertown, MA

[fernandosalume]

We just have no words to say how sad we are when heard about this tragic news...
Mike was a very important person to our company and a good friend also...
This is just a huge loss for our stone industry and we feel like loosing a member of our family.
We're praying for Mike's family since he will certainly be missed for us all.

[ageless]

What a great loss to the stone industy. I really don't have the words to express how saddened I am by this news. At our shop, we always look forward to the monthly issue of Stone World. It's usually a quick flip thru in the shop with the guys looking on to see the pictures of other shops or new tools. Then I take it with me to read. Mike will truly be missed. Our condolences to Mike's family and all those that worked close to him.

[Alex Bachrach]

It bears repeating that this thread is a powerful testament to our old friend. Thank you all so much on behalf of all of us at Stone World and his family. They are aware of this thread and hopefully reading it to see the impact that Michael had on our international industry. I will be preparing a video tribute of Michael and would LOVE any and all of you to share photos like the ones I see here. If you could send me a jpg or image to my email at alex@stoneworld.com, it would be greatly appreciated.

Unfortunately, to pull these off the web, I would have to ask Mike, and like the 150th time I have already realized this in the last three days, he's not down the damn hall any more. I will have to get used to that, but damn is that tough to accept.

[Darryl Miller]

Unfortunately, to pull these off the web, I would have to ask Mike, and like the 150th time I have already realized this in the last three days, he's not down the damn hall any more. I will have to get used to that, but damn is that tough to accept.

I can understand how tough getting used to that will be. When my father passed years ago, I would catch myself many times dialing his phone number to ask him a question about something I couldn't figure out. So sorry for your loss Alex.

[StoneInteriors]

A dark day indeed. I am shocked and saddened by this news.
Mike was truly an advocate for the stone industry and will be missed by all.
Our heartfelt condolences to his family & friends.

Sincerely,
Mark J. Blanda, SR.
Stone Interiors Alabama
30281 County Road 49
P.O.Box 693
Loxley, AL. 36551

[Eric R]

As many others are, I'm shocked and saddened to hear this. I had been speaking with Michael just recently about doing a story on a trip to China I'm taking from a fabricators perspective and we were planning on meeting at the show in Xiamen. It's hard to explain knowing that I won't be able to see him, but I imagine others can understand and feel the same sense of loss.

I was with many others on a trip to Italy that Michael was able to join us on. It was great to get to know him and talk about his travels around the world.

Where's Michael? (hint, 9th smiling head from the left)


A dinner we were forced to eat in Italy


Heres a pic of Michael, Ron Hannah and myself after I told Michael about my experience (Which became a dramatic event) trying to use the bathroom facilities following our great dinner. Obviously he enjoyed my lack of "International" experience and my description of the balancing act and subsequent failure that followed.


And...the picture of the "International" restroom (pre-incident), and location of my pain and embarrassment, that had him laughing in the above pic.


I will miss Michael and I'm very grateful for his contributions to an industry he really became one with. My prayers and condolences go out to his family, friends and colleagues.

[joedelorenzo]

We really lost a guiding light and a great friend in this industry. I have some great memories while traveling with him through Italy and Spain. My deepest condolences go out to his family.

[K.O.]

I am at a loss... I heard Friday but couldn't confirm anything until Friday night after a conversation with Janelle.

I am still in shock as I planned on spending time with Mike and Alex in Xiamen in a few weeks... I don't know how I'll move on from this loss.

This is a small industry as we all know and when you get connected to people you treat them as though they are family and the Stone World crew adopted me early. The first event I participated in while working for Blick was a MIA/Stone World seminar in Dallas in 2008. Alex and I hit it off and I ended up giving him a ride to the airport as we departed for the next stop on the 3 day tour. Shortly after that I began hanging with the Stone World crew and I met Michael at another industry event. Like brothers, we all got along immediately. Over the years my role here at Blick changed and I found myself on the road A LOT. The road can be lonely to say the least, but one thing that was always comforting was knowing that I would see my friends while on the road. Mike was always a person I looked forward to seeing. I would see him everywhere even see him unexpectedly at industry events. One of my most favorite memories of Mike was the evening him and I spent at Barfüßer in Nuremberg, Germany for the 2011 Stone+Tec show (we always joked and called it Bar F.U.B.A.R. ). We talked about work and life for a long time over many steins of beer. We talked extensively about his passions, hiking in particular and we shared our experiences of climbing Mt. Whitney and all the other peaks in the Sierra's. His enthusiasm for hiking brought back vivid memories of my teenage years. His ability to engage anyone was unreal, one of his best attributes. It was an awesome time, one that I will never forget.

I wanted to post some pictures of good times we had together and hope that they show the man that Mike was, a fun loving, easy going guy that could hang with anyone and talk about anything.

After I won $300 at the tables in Vegas for Expo 2011, I decided we should drink the winnings at RED in Mandalay Bay. Mike, as always, was having a fantastic time!


Steve, Alex and Mike (The Stone World Boys)


Mike at Howl at the Moon bar, Coverings 2012. I made him take a Jello shot from a syringe, he almost gaged after!


My last text to Mike was on Saturday, all though he will never read it, I wanted to share. I said "Love you bro".

RIP my brother.

[dsyverson]

Such a tragedy and our thoughts and prayers are with his family.

Like others have said, he was a great guy and a pillar of our industry.

I only met him once, but really found him to be engaging and passionate. RIP Mike

[Cevin Moberly]

I too was shocked to hear the sad news this weekend and after reading these many posts in his honor, I am reminded of the simple things. Mike always stopped by our booth to say hello, both here and in Italy. Always had a smile on his face and an outstreched hand. Always took a few minutes to ask whats new, and talk about the state of the industry.

I cant say I knew him well, but I had a few dinners with him and I had a few drinks with him and I can say he was a good man. He did his job well. He cared about our industry. He will be missed.

Our thoughts are with the Reis family, Alex, and the Stone World team for their loss

[Angel]

I never had the chance to meet him, but I enjoyed the articles he wrote.
His contributions to the stone industry will be greatly missed.
Our condolences to his family.

[Jim Hieb]

I'm so bummed! Today I looked through the MIA's picture archives looking for a picture of me with Michael. I found dozens of pictures of Michael, but none of the two us together. The most recent picture (see attached) I have is one from Salt Lake City when Arizona Tile hosted a recent fabricator seminar. Jim

[CustomMarbleGraniteToo]

Jim

It would be greatly appreciated if you shared the dozens of pictures you found today. Thanks!

[ronald hannah]

That would be awesome Jim. Please share your photos with the industry. We all could use a lift.

[RobReis]

Mike was not only my brother he was a friend and he inspired me to be a better man. From the Reis family I say thanks to everyone here and I am deeply touched by the support. I always knew how much he loved his work and in reading all of these post I can see why. He touched and influenced so many people, that was his special gift and he will be missed by all.

[BrianGambrell]

Our hearts are broken with the news that we have lost our dear friend Michael Reis.

The Stone Industry has lost a work companion and an invaluable asset to the industry. Michael traveled the world with us and for us. He taught us many facets of our business and informed us about the development of new technologies before they reached us. Michael wrote numerous articles that gave us confidence in what we were accomplishing here in the USA. At the age of 43, Michael was at the peak of his professional life. We have lost a good man, friend, and amazing conveyor of knowledge and insight.

To his family, you should know that we are so very proud of Michael and we want to say thank you for all the time and attention he spent traveling the world to help this industry grow from infancy to a world changing market. Your loss is most certainly our loss. And to all of our friends at Stone World Magazine, please allow us to share in your grief, to reflect, and to remember all the joy and precious time we shared with Michael.

Sincerely,
Family of Tenax USA and Weha USA

[Jim Hieb]

Michael is on the far left. He is moderating a fabricator forum in Boston. This is where Michael really shined. He commanded the respect of the audience and was excellent at asking the panelist questions.

[Jim Hieb]

Alex & Michael with MS International.