Many of the family wanted to express their thoughts and thanks to all of you who have helped and supported them in so many ways during this very difficult journey.  These are their words to all of you....

From Jill:

So much is unclear to me now...

The loss of my wonderful husband has caused me to question a lot of things.  But one thing I know for sure; Lance was loved.  The overwhelming support of our fire fighting family and many friends has touched our lives so profoundly, and we know we're not alone in our grief.  The outpouring of love that you've shown Lance, Max, Brian and myself has sustained us through these most difficult months.  We feel your arms around us daily.

Your many unselfish acts of kindness have reminded us that God is Good, even if life, sometimes does not seem fair.  I'm comforted in knowing that your bond of friendship will provide our boys with the most valuable gift of all, a living memorial to their dad.  People they can turn to, where they can hear stories and see pictures and know the impact their dad had on the lives of others.

Thank you all from the bottom of our hearts for everything you have done for us.  We can't begin to adequately thank you except to say that we will do our best to honor Lance by being the kind of human being that he was...

a man of integrity, humor, kindness and incredible courage even in the end.

From Alex:

Happy New Year

I would like to take a moment on this New Year’s Day to thank the many people who have given so generously to the Michaelis family during my beloved son’s illness.

To the Men and Women of the Santa Clara Fire Department, well, what can I say? Lance loved you. During his last few weeks when he was suffering so much, you would visit and his eyes would light up while you were with him. He tried so hard to be strong for you and you gave him strength just by being there.

Your generosity has been without equal. You voted to provide for his family. You supported him physically when it seemed the doctors could not. You risked your lives working shifts for him, causing you to be away from your own families for long periods of time, when he could no longer work for himself. You provided whatever was needed and so much more.

To all Lance and Jill’s friends and family. What an honor to meet so many of you and to see the outpouring of love and compassion for my son and the continuing support you give to Jill, Max and Brian. This brings a joy that will have a permanent place in my heart.

The memorial service was a true testament of love and respect for my beloved son, and although extremely difficult, will be remembered for all of my remaining years. I would like to thank each and every one of you who took part in the planning and implementation, and those that honored my precious son by attending. I hope that in the future I will be able to thank you individually and personally rather than in this brief note.

I am grief stricken by my son’s death, but consider myself to be a lucky man. For a man to have a son for even a short time, who has from the beginning made him proud and provided so much joy, is truly a blessing.

Respectfully,

Alex Michaelis

Lance's Dad

From Gail: (Jill's Mom)

Please accept my sincere and heartfelt gratitude for making it possible for me to spend time with Lance, Jill, Brian and Max. This has been such a caring experience for me to share. All of you have given so freely of yourselves and I truly feel the love you have for the Michaelis family. I am so grateful to all of you.

God Bless you,

Gail Gansereit

From Donna: (Lance's Mom)

Many of you do not know me, nor have we ever met. My name is Donna and I am Lance’s Mom. My heartfelt thanks and deep appreciation goes out to each and every one of you. We have all been truly astounded by the many people who have been available to assist Lance and his family from the beginning of his illness up to the present time.

It is difficult for me to express how much I will miss Lance. At birth, he was a strong baby and he remained strong right up until the end of his life. While the last two and a half years have been a difficult journey, now at its end, I am blessed with forty-nine years of beautiful memories. These memories will remain in my heart for the rest of my life.

I have boxes and albums of photos and videos to look back upon….memories of Lance’s first steps, first haircut, swim lessons, Little League, and basketball games. Some important moments in his life that I recall are his speech at his 8th grade graduation, and then his speech as senior class president during his high school graduation.

As a family we spent countless hours at swim meets and water polo games. One of many memorable trips revolved around Lance’s swimming. It was our trip to Israel to watch Lance compete and win the first gold medal at the Macabiah Games.

Another proud memory is when Lance attained his goal of becoming a firefighter, thus following his father and grandfather’s path (Sunnyvale Public Safety/ Oakland Fire Department).

Special memories that I recall are family gatherings, birthdays, Christmas/Chanukah, Easter/Passover, Lance and Jill’s wedding, and the birth of two of my grandchildren Max and Brian.

Other memories I will cherish are Lance’s two surprise birthday parties, one given for his 40th birthday at The Harker School, and the second for his 49th organized by his dear friend Mike Ryan. Both were attended by a large number of new and old friends and family members. We also had a Shonley family reunion this past April and in October a San Francisco Bay Cruise where Lance was able to enjoy himself and even sip some champagne. One of the last memories I will be forever thankful for is spending this past Thanksgiving with Lance, Jill, and the boys.

It comforts me to believe that Lance was once again welcomed into the loving arms of his Grandpa and Grandma, Babe and Eleanor Shonley, and his Opa and Oma, Julius and Hilda Michaelis.

As there are far too many angels out there to thank personally, please accept my sincere gratitude and appreciation for all the incredible acts of kindness, support, and love that have been showered on us all in a million different ways. You all know who you are.

I have always been and I will always be proud to be Lance’s mom.