Michael Travis, 1951-2013

February 8, 2013

Michael Travis, 29 September 1951 - 7 February 2013

JPII lost a good friend this week; one of our faculty members -- Michael Travis passed away after a year and a half battle with cancer. He is survived by his wife of thirty-one years, Jackie, and generations and generations of his students, here in San Antonio and in Massachusetts.

Links to obituaries:
Through Porter Loring Funeral Homes
In the San Antonio Express-News

Mr. Travis joined our teaching faculty in 2011, teaching math to freshman and

sophomores, and leading a Solidarity team. His students always enjoyed his ability to make math easier and to make them laugh. Everyone loved his smile.

Over his long teaching career, Mr. Travis worked with thousands of students, starting his teaching work in schools in Massachusetts. Twenty-five years ago, Mr. and Mrs. Travis moved to Texas and San Antonio, where he taught at Fox Tech High School among other schools in SAISD. He was proud to be a part of a teaching faculty at Fox Tech that transformed the school from one of the lowest performing schools in the state to one of the highest.

We have know Mr. Travis for two years, and were a part of his journey through cancer. For all of us, we knew how courageously and humbly that he fought. He always had a smile and good word, even when dealing with treatment. As a school, we celebrated with him in May of 2012 in battling the disease into remission. Remarkable was the fact that he was teaching up until the day he entered the hospital. Mrs. Travis, a good friend of the school, shared with us how much he loved the school, how proud he was to be a part of the faculty, and how much he appreciated the prayers of our community.

Of course, we have to mention his fierce love for his teams, the Red Sox, Patriots, and Celtics, and he added the Guardians to that list. As many games as he could attend he did.

He was committed to his faith, and was proud to have received communion on his last day. He held a particular devotion to his patron, St. Michael, with whom he shared a feast day/birthday. In fact, he was fond of telling the story that his mother changed his name just after his birth to Michael in honor of the feast day.

His funeral arrangements are Thursday, 14 February 2013, Rosary and Visitation in the evening at Porter Loring (Loop 1604 and Gold Canyon), and the funeral Mass at OLPH-Selma, on Friday, 15 February 2013, at 11:30 a.m. School arrangements have been made such that all in our community can attend.

St. Michael, the Archangel, Pray for us!