116 3rd St SE
Cedar Rapids, Iowa 52401
Obituaries
The Gazette publishes obituaries on a daily basis. Use the search field above to search for obituaries by name or keyword. Readers can submit an obituary or submit a milestone to The Gazette. The obituary must be submitted before 1 p.m. for publication on thegazette.com at 6 p.m. and in the daily edition the next day, with the exception of obituaries for Sunday publication, which must be submitted by 1 p.m. on Fridays.
Michael Fay
MICHAEL FAY
Cedar Rapids
Michael W. Fay died in his home from cardiac failure on Tuesday, July 28, 2015. A memorial service is planned at St. Patrick's Church, Anamosa, on Saturday, Sept. 19, at 9 a.m., and friends will gather from 1 to 4 p.m. that day in the upper pavilion at Daniel's Park in Cedar Rapids.
Mike practiced law in Cedar Rapids for 48 years before retiring this year. The son of Edward and June Fay, he was born Oct. 13, 1942, in Sandusky, Ohio, and raised in Chadron, Neb., and Cedar Rapids. Mike graduated from Regis High School and Saint Ambrose College, and earned his law degree from the University of Wyoming. Following two years of Army service during the Vietnam War era, he began his law practice in Cedar Rapids with a Springville branch office. He was honored to serve with the William Kunstler defense team during a 1976 American Indian Movement murder trial in Cedar Rapids. Many area clients benefited from his frequent pro bono representation and advice. He was a member of the Catholic Laymen's Club and the Cedar Rapids Literary Club. Mike taught constitutional law at Kirkwood and the University of Iowa and was a longtime ACLU and ICLU member. He was proud to be a liberal Irish Democrat.
He is survived by his daughter, Ann Henkel of Pleasant Hill; his brothers, Timothy and John Fay of Anamosa; and nieces and nephews. His parents and brother Daniel preceded him in death.
Memorials may be directed to the family through Brosh Chapel, Cedar Rapids.
Daily Newsletters