Michael Gleason

Michael Edward Gleason, age 62, passed away on January 19, 2018 at his home in Pinehurst, Texas. Mike is preceded in death by both his parents, Edward and Pearl Gleason. He is survived by Rhonda, his wife of 36 years, his daughters, Kasey Gleason Luithle and husband, Aaron Luithle, of Fort Worth, TX; Amanda Gleason of Houston, TX; and son, Bradley Gleason of Waco, TX and grandchildren, Lily and Max Gleason of Gretna, NE; sisters, Vickie and Holly Gleason of Round Rock, TX; half-sister, Barbie Branston and husband, Bob, of Waukesha, WI; niece, Kim Kraemer Winning; nephews Kevin and Keith Kraemer and cousins, Margie Kieckheffer, Milwaukee, WI; Barb Blackmore, Richland Hills, WI, and Ron Durian, Ladylake, FL. Mike was born in Milwaukee, WI on August 9, 1955. He attended college at Milwaukee School of Engineering where he earned a degree in electrical engineering. He met Rhonda when they were members of a country western band in Houston in 1979 that was made up of several of Mike’s friends from Texas Instruments. Mike was the drummer and Rhonda was the female vocalist. As the saying goes, they made beautiful music together and were married on August 22, 1981. His career in the computer industry began in 1978 in Houston at Texas Instruments as a Printer Systems Designer and lead firmware engineer where he was instrumental in developing the TI880 Impact Printer. In 1985, his family was transferred to the Texas Instruments facility in Temple, TX where he took the role of Printer New Product Engineering Manager. Mike directed the new product development of the TI microLaser and TI microLaser XL printers. He also directed the software development and testing for the TI Travelmate 6000/6100 series of notebook computers. In 1997, Mike found himself at Acer directing R&D where he directed a team of ex-TI Notebook Designers. In 1998, Mike took a huge step and moved his native Texan family to the plains of South Dakota where he joined Gateway Computers as a Sr. Manager of Engineering. He was responsible for the qualification of all Gateway printers and scanners. He also managed the introduction of Gateway’s 42” Plasma TV. In 2002, the Gleasons headed back to Texas where Mike took a position at Dell, Inc in Round Rock. As Sr. Engineering Manager he directed the product development teams for Dell’s laser printers and system level hardware for Dell’s M1000e Blade Chassis Internal Management Control modules and subsystems. Mike and Rhonda found themselves making a full circle as they returned to Houston in 2015 where Mike joined Hewlett Packard Enterprise as a Sr. Hardware Manager for the Hybrid IT ProLiant Server development team. He led a team of engineers in developing the ProLiant DL560 Rack Server. He successfully released the Gen 10 model in the summer of 2017. Mike was a devoted husband and father with many interests. He loved his classic Rock and Roll music. He and Rhonda spent many hours listening to their original vinyl LPs. He also enjoyed playing his drums and collecting guitars. He was an avid collector of guns and enjoyed spending time at the gun range. Motorcycles, photography and attending classic car and air shows was also a favorite pastime. Mike always looked forward to travelling with his family whether it be local, casino trips to Tulsa, OK and Biloxi, MS or relaxing in Maui, Hawaii. Most important to Mike was the time he spent with his family and their cocker spaniels, Chance and Weatherbea. He was a gentle giant, with a kind spirit and a generous heart. He was also a problem solver who often took on difficult and unwanted projects at work. Mike truly held a high degree of appreciation and respect for his team members in the workplace and considered all his friends to be true treasures. He will be deeply missed by everyone who knew him.