In Memory of Charles Mike Thacker(1956 - 2018)
- Name
- Charles Thacker
- Children
- Nicholas, Heather, Alexander, Zachary
- Birth Date
- June 22, 1956
- Blessing Date
- October 14, 1982
- Ascension Date
- May 31, 2018
- Local Church
- Nashville Family Church
Charles Mike Thacker was born to Charles and Sarah Thacker on June 22, 1956. He grew up with his sister, Cindy, in Nashville, TN. His mother passed away at the age of 33 due to a heart attack and his stepmother, Nancy Thacker from Lebanon, took good care of them.
Mike joined the Unification Movement in Seattle in 1979 after meeting his spiritual father, Roger Wise, whose brother was married to his sister, Cindy. He worked very hard in Seattle and in the North Western region for a decade. In those days, he worked with Robert Yerger (now in Franklin, Tennessee), who became close friends. Mike worked as a city leader in Bozeman, Montana for a while.
He owned a company 24/7 Computer Service and served many customers in Nashville and in the surrounding areas through fixing their computer problems with so much love. His hobby was bike touring.
Mike Blessed in marriage with Chong Ok by True Parents on October 14, 1982 in Korea. After fundraising in Canada before starting their own family, they moved to Nashville (Harding Place and Nolensville Pike) in 1987. They have resided in Pleasant View, Tennessee for 27 years since 1991. They have been blessed with four talented children: Nicholas, Heather, Alexander, and Zachary.
- Time
- 1:00 PM
- Date
- June 3, 2018
- Location
- 6316 Highway 41A, Pleasant View, TN 37146
- Viewing
- 12:00 PM - 1:00 PM
Roger Alan Wise
| #
My heart goes out to Mike’s devoted and steadfast wife Chong Ok and his four wonderful children, Nicholas, Heather,Alex and Zachary. I know how proud he was of each and everyone of his children.
My heart is still broken from the phone call that Chong Ok made to me the day after Mike passed away suddenly.
She and I spoke for a very long time. We laughed and we cried together.
Even now days later I still feel like I’m in a daze. I find myself reaching for the phone so many times during the day to call Mike, my very best friend on earth. No one could make me laugh like Mike could. He was and continues to be,
the eternal optimist.
I feel so thankful that I was able to talk to Mike for 45 minutes the day before he ascended to the Spirit World. He and I had big plans for all that we were going to do in the future.
I first met Mike when he was 14 years old. I was serving on a nuclear missile submarine out of Rota,Spain. I came to Nashville to be the best man for my brother Lee’s marriage to Mike’s sister Cindy.
Mike was standing there with a full cast on his leg from a recent motorcycle crash. He was totally cheerful about the whole thing. “No big deal”, he said to me.
I can also remember, like it was yesterday, when Mike first came to Seattle in 1979. He came there just to get away from Nashville for a while and spend some time with me. He had absolutely no intention of joining my church. I just happened to be attending a workshop at Windermere on Lake Washington that weekend.
I saw firsthand how Mike changed upon hearing the Divine Principle. He told me that this is what he had decided to do for the rest of his life. Marc Lee was teaching that weekend. (Marc was one of the best lecturers that we had.)
After that weekend workshop, we decided that Mike was ready for the next stage. So he and I boarded the train down to San Francisco a few days later. Still today, Mike and I burst out laughing when we think about the prank that we pulled on that train. On a whim, Mike had purchased some fake vomit. We put it in the middle of the aisle and put water on it to make it look look more realistic. Mike was on one side of the aisle and I was on the other side of the aisle with our heads covered, waiting to see what would happen. Soon three train employees were standing around that fake vomit. Each one of them was saying emphatically, “ I ain’t gonna touch that stuff!” Meanwhile, Mike and I were laughing hysterically under our coats.
Mike loved Boonville. He loved being around all the brothers and sisters. John Redmond was there. He had us digging a ditch in the frozen ground.( Thanks John!)
Before heading back to Seattle by train, we decided to visit Alcatraz. We were all standing in a large group surrounding our guide. Without looking, I reached over and affectionately pulled Mike close to me and said, “You know there was a lot of homosexuality in everyone of those cells.” Then I looked up and was surprised to see Mike looking at me from across the room. I turned my head and saw the most frightened young man I had ever seen in my life.
Mike loved True Parents so much. He was on my fundraising team for almost one year. I never saw anyone work as hard as Mike did to support True Parents.
He is such an adventurous soul. I shall never forget the time, not too long ago, when he decided to visit Denver. He drove his
motorcycle all the way from Nashville to Denver, sometimes at speeds of over 100 mph, without stopping.
I shall continue to love Mike with all my heart and soul for the rest of my life, on this earth and beyond.
I know that we are supposed to be joyful when someone sends to the Heavenly Kingdom. But as I write this, tears are rolling down my face.
My thoughts are about Mike, but I am also thinking about our Heavenly Parent. If I feel this much pain and sorrow for the loss of one individual, I can only imagine what our Heavenly Parent has felt for so many thousands of years. I am thinking of the pain that our True Mother experiences every day in silence over the loss of her children.
So go forward Mike… spread your wings…become the person that God always wanted you to be. Become the person that you always wanted to be. Always keep uppermost in your mind and heart that I am here for you. I shall pay any price. I shall climb any mountain. I shall pay any indemnity. I shall endure any suffering for your sake. I shall do anything to clear the pathway that will allow you to dwell forever within the realm of God’s True Love.
Reply
Elise H. Tape'
| #
Very nice to hear about the fond memories of Mike and that he has been such a lifelong close relative and spiritual son. I remember him briefly soon after he joined and he was always making us laugh.
May God comfort his faithful wife Chong Ok and children, Nicholas, Heather, Alex and Zachary knowing that he is in a good place and is loved and remembered as a beloved son of True Parents.
Reply
Randy & Kumiko Francis
| #
Best of Journeys Mike!
Wonderful stories and memories Roger – Thank You for sharing.
Reply
Scott Dolfay
| #
As Roger said Mike joined in Seattle in 1979, I joined there in 1981. We fundraised together throughout the northwest region, especially Alaska, selling preserved butterflies in glass domes and lamps. Church members made beautiful arrangements in the basement of the Windermere mansion. A display cabinet there has a picture taken in 1982 of our fundraising team in Anchorage. It’s a novelty picture where we dressed up in frontier clothes. Mike looks like a riverboat gambler. We were able to pay off the mansion’s mortgage selling those butterflies.
Mike was full of life and a real joker; he would make up wild stories about the butterflies while fundraising. There were some called “birdwings”, with a twinkle in his eye he once told someone that in their native Malaysia they swarm and carry off small animals. I said “Mike they’re amazing enough without the embellishment”, he’d just laugh.
Over the years I called him a few times and he once visited Seattle with one of his sons on a road trip. Beyond that like so many other wonderful brothers & sisters we went on to live our lives elsewhere but the memories are timeless. Bless you Mike, the world was made better with you in it. That’s a providential life.
Reply