Michael C. Mahoney

Michael Charles Mahoney was born on February 8, 1954, to Dan and Audrey Mahoney in St. Louis, Missouri. When he was 5 years old, Dan and Audrey moved their four children (Patricia, Dan Thomas, Michael, and Kathleen) to Santa Ana, California. Littlest sister Anna joined the family after this.

Ever the entrepreneur, Mike began mowing lawns at a young age, and saved up enough money to put a down payment on a riding lawnmower. This was the first in a long line of successful businesses for Mike. He graduated from Saddleback High School in 1972. In high school, Mike played many sports, doing particularly well in wrestling. (This ability would serve him well in the early 1980s, when he wrestled a bear at Jeep’s Bar in Alpine.) He also made several lifelong friends during this time.

Mike met his wife, Andrea Dee Harris, at a bar in Santa Ana, The Handlebar Saloon, at which he was the bouncer and she a patron. They were married a matter of months later, on May 15, 1976. Their eldest daughter, Kelly, was born in 1979. In October of that year, Mike, Dee, and four-month-old Kelly moved to Jackson, Wyoming. Mike and Dee’s younger daughter, Michelle, joined the family just over a year later. Mike was extremely proud of his children, and would say that their births were the best days of his life. He could often be heard bragging about them to whomever would listen.

Mike loved living here and always thought of Wyoming as his true home. He embraced the western lifestyle, learning to hunt, chop down trees for firewood, and ski, skills he passed on to his two daughters. He was very proud to tell people this was where he lived and often brought it up with strangers he met in other places. Mike was a lifelong member of the Elks and donated generously to many organizations in town. He was a friend to everyone and loved to stop and chat.

Mike had many jobs in Jackson, including working at Fred’s Market and a brief stint at the airport, which afforded the family many opportunities for travel they wouldn’t otherwise have had. Following this, he owned several businesses, and in 1998 began his own garage door sales and repair service company. This business grew quickly and became very successful. Mike was always an extremely hard worker and a good businessman, skills he also passed down to his daughters. He was thrilled when, in 2007, his future son-in-law, Tate Allen, decided to open his own garage door business and Mike became Tate’s mentor.

Mike worked for many years at the garage door business, a job that took a toll on his body. He had several surgeries to attempt to fix his back, knees, and shoulders. Following one of these surgeries, in 2017, he became paralyzed from the waist down. This was very hard for him, but he worked hard at learning his new life, and for a long time tried to make the best of it. However, in 2020 Mike’s condition began to deteriorate. He passed away on December 11, 2022. He is survived by his wife, Dee, daughters Kelly Mitchell (Ryan) and Michelle Allen (Tate), six grandchildren: Olivia and Dean Mitchell, Skyler, Breanna, Mallory, and Hattie Allen, sisters Tricia Zoltek, Kat Mahoney, Annie Haberkorn (Mike), brother Dan Mahoney, sister-in-law Janice Harris, cousin Tom McNamee, many nieces and nephews: Adam Harris (Kristine), Josh Harris (Leyla Seka), Alicia Saussus (Dennis), Sean Zoltek (Qimei), Tara Kaster (Dustin), Aaron Mahoney, Brandon Mahoney, Amber Devey (David), and Christal Martinez (Hector), several grandnieces and grandnephews, and lifelong friends Steve and Elaine Cali, Christiane Rockwell, and Art Bernhard.

He is preceded in death by his parents, Dan and Audrey Mahoney, brother-in-law Duncan Harris, nephew Erik Mahoney, and close friends Chuck Wooden Sr., Bruce Rockwell, and Karen Bernhard.

The family would like to thank the amazing and endlessly patient physical and occupational therapists and home health care providers he worked with the last five years.

A celebration of life will be held in Jackson in May.

In lieu of flowers, please send donations in Mike’s name to: Teton Adaptive Sports, P.O. Box 903, Teton Village, WY 83025 or Soroptimist of Jackson Hole, P.O. Box 2249, Jackson, WY 83001.