Obituary of Michael Johnstone

Michael Johnstone passed away peacefully at home on May 13, 2014 after a long battle with heart and lung disease. He is survived by his wife of 32 years, Dawn; his sons, Jacob and Jason; and two adored grandchildren. He also will be missed by numerous friends and extended family. Michael enjoyed many things, but his greatest and all consuming passion was music. He loved listening to, reading about, and collecting music. He touched many lives with this love and could talk for hours sharing his knowledge. He also enjoyed teaching bass guitar, as that was his instrument of choice. He spent time in his youth performing with friends in several bands, and then was involved in the creation of Gatortail, a local group in the Santa Cruz area for several years. As far as music was concerned he was the "go to guy" and he could answer just about any question from any genre of music from the 1950's on. His collection covered A to Z (Abba to Zappa), and everything in between. He often told Dawn "You are my wife, but music is my mistress." Mike was also an avid reader and loved to share his most recent book with others, especially if the book he had just read was related to the music business. He also had a great love of baseball. Some of his best times were the years he coached his son's teams, and most recently, he enjoyed watching his grandson play tee-ball as his son helped coach the team. He was a life long Atlanta Braves fan, and would have been quite pleased to know the Braves beat the Giants 5-0 the day he passed, as he had an ongoing rivalry with his son, and Giants fan, Jacob. Mike loved his job delivering mail for several years in Rio Del Mar. He enjoyed chatting with customers along his route and always made time to offer a biscuit to his canine friends. There will be a celebration of Mike's life on Sunday, July 13, from 12:00 to 4:00 at the Harvey West Club House in Santa Cruz. Please bring your favorite memory of Mike to share with his family. In lieu of flowers donations can be made in Michael's name to the Community Music School, P O. Box 531, Santa Cruz, Ca. 95061 (a tax deductible non profit group that provides, encourages, and supports young people with a passion for music.)