Michael Thaddeus Kawalec

Michael Thaddeus Kawalec, beloved husband, brother, brother-in -law and friend, died peacefully on August 12, 2025 at his home in Chapel Hill, North Carolina . He was born August 22, 1942 to Thad and Jennie (Kwiatkowski) Kawalec in Wayne County Michigan. Thad, who immigrated to the United States from Poland as a child, was a self-made man who instilled in Mike a belief in his ability to succeed in anything he tried to do. Mike faced life with a determination and perseverance that became his hallmark.

Mike won a scholarship to the University of Michigan where he entered the School of Engineering in 1960. He graduated with Bachelor’s degree in 1964, the year that President Lyndon B. Johnson spoke at the commencement ceremony. It was on this occasion that Johnson introduced his famous policy “The Great Society” which, Mike felt, indeed characterized the era. Mike earned a Master’s in Electrical Engineering in 1965 and joined IBM in Poughkeepsie, New York. IBM was in the early stages of developing the System 360 mainframe computer system and urgently needed programmers. Mike immediately became a programmer and moved to the new headquarters in the Research Triangle Park, North Carolina. For the next 30 years he continued with IBM where he had a very satisfying career in telecommunications development. His career enabled him to employ his enthusiasm for learning throughout his life.

While at a the University of Michigan Mike met Beverly Cronin, whom he married in 1967. They supported each other in their various interests and endeavors for the next 58 years of their marriage.

Mike loved traveling and had many opportunities to work and visit around the world. His work took him to England, Japan, and South Korea. Personal travels took him throughout Europe and in 2020 a trip around the world on a Viking ship. Unfortunately, that trip was interrupted by the Covid pandemic and had to be aborted halfway around.

Many of his trips grew from his passion for Classical era music and the music of Mozart. He started to collect the complete works of Mozart when the world was still listening on records and tapes. His hobby of collecting the complete works ended when Phillips Records released The Complete Mozart, a collection of 180 compact disks, in1991, the bicentenary of Mozart’s death. His trips to Europe often centered around the places that Mozart had lived, composed and performed.

Mike loved sailing, especially racing, and spent many happy weekends racing a Flying Scott with the Carolina Sailing Club at Kerr Lake. He also loved maintaining his yard, his house and everything in it.. He rarely hired a carpenter, an electrician, a plumber or a gardener.

After he retired, Mike turned his competitive spirit to playing bridge. He played with the Triangle Bridge Club, among others, for many years. He combined his interest in probability theory with bridge and spent years writing a bridge playing program.

Mike is survived by his wife, Beverly; his sister and her husband, Frances Kawalec and Lee Evans of Ann Arbor Michigan, and his niece Wendy Comiskey of Howell, Michigan. He is also survived by his sister-in-law, Kathleen Robinson of Jamaica Plain, Massachusetts, and his nephew Geoffrey Robinson of Blue Lake, California. He is also survived by his sister-in-law and her husband, Janet and Suat Karantay of istanbul, Turkey, and by his nephew, Kerem Karantay of New Your City, and niece and her husband, Sibel and Nigel Cree of Edinburgh, Scotland. He was predeceased by his sister Marie.

A private memorial service will be held at a later date.