Obituary

Michael Durgin Plenkovich came into this world on January 19, 1936.  He grew up in Tacoma, Washington.  One week after graduating from Lincoln High School in 1954, he enlisted in the United States Marine Corps.  After boot camp at Camp Pendleton, he served in Korea at the end of the war. It was during this time that he was inspired to attend the University of Puget Sound, where he met his future wife, Rochelle.  They were married in 1962.

Two years later, they enjoyed a 3-month auto trip in Europe, visiting 17 countries from Iceland to Greece. They spent a week with several relatives on the island of Brac in Croatia, where his father was from. Many other travels followed; their last trip was to Israel in 2019.

Skiing was a highlight of their winters and camping in the summers.  Mike was an avid golfer year-round, even until last year.

Mike had a passion for learning, and he read and researched a wide variety of topics.  He especially enjoyed digging into history and biblical concepts. His reading material was laced with highlighter marks and sticky notes as is evidenced by his colorful bible. In his bible he also taped favored quotes and personal notes from his loving family. He highly valued his daily time in his bible and prayer.

He was active in many organizations throughout his life.  He joined the Civil Air Patrol as a teenager. Later, he was in Toastmasters for several years and served as President of Toastmasters International. He was also active in Kiwanis and a member of Bellingham Rotary for 40 years and valued the friendships he had with other members. Mike was compassionate and generous and ready to help where he saw a need.

Mike’s career as a CPA included 22 years as Chief Financial Officer of Whatcom Medical Bureau, until he retired in 1998.

Mike cherished and enjoyed being with his family at every opportunity: wife Rochelle; sons Jamie (Krisinda) Plenkovich, David (Stephanie) Plenkovich, daughter Becky (Darin) Coder; grandchildren Kaitlyn and Gabriel Coder; Jacqueline (Chandler) Ramos; William, Miles, and Lucy Plenkovich; great-granddaughter, Charlotte Ramos.

He is greatly missed by all.

A memorial service is scheduled for Tuesday, March 11, at 1:00 p.m. at Spring Creek Bible Church located at 567 E Kellogg Rd, Bellingham, WA 98226.