NEWS / FIRM NEWS & EVENTS - May 2024
In Loving Memory - Michael D. Aafedt
In Loving Memory of
Michael D. Aafedt
February 4, 1943 - May 19, 2024
Michael D. Aafedt, known to family and friends as “Mick”, passed away on Sunday, May 19, 2024, after a slow decline due to Lewy Body dementia.
Mike was born in Grand Forks on February 4, 1943. He graduated from St. Olaf College and then attended the University of Minnesota Law School. Early in his career, he joined the firm of Van Eps, Gilmore & Chantry, a firm which ultimately became Aafedt, Forde, Gray, Monson & Hager.
For the next five decades, he practiced in the specialty of workers’ compensation: first as a litigator and then as a mediator. He was an exceptional trial lawyer and a masterful mediator. He had tremendous success in his career and never let anyone forget about the landmark Lockwood decision!
He was gifted with a razor-sharp mind coupled with a manner that was as smooth as silk. He was admired by men and women alike. Men wished they were more like him, and women were glad that there was at least one of him.
In the competitive environment of a private law firm, Mike stood out as an exception to the rule. He promoted his associates and partners, without concern for loss of his own client following. Clients, of course, remained loyal, despite his reassurances that another attorney in the firm could handle the matter with similar success.
Mike married his college sweetheart, Pat, and they later had two sons, David and Matt. He shined in his role as a dad. He was fiercely proud of his sons and grandchildren. He cheered them on at their games and relished their academic and professional accomplishments. Matt and David were never left out of a coffee cup conversation.
After Pat’s death in 2007, he found love for a second time with Deb Sundquist. As she puts it, “he was her guy, and she was his girl.”
In the days and weeks leading up to his passing, Deb was a loving and faithful companion. She watched silly television shows with him, played his favorite music and soothed his hands and feet with essential oils. She welcomed all family members to join her in what turned out to be a very long goodbye.
It is a bitter irony that Mike, who had the quickest mind and the most charming personality, had his most precious traits taken from him by a cruel disease. Before his illness set in, he was always the wittiest man in the room - equally adept at extending a compliment or returning a clever reply.
Mick’s table at Murray’s Restaurant will always be his, just as Sid Hartman and Burt Lancaster have theirs. If you knew him, you were fortunate and, if you knew him well, you were dang lucky. May he rest in peace.
Mike was born in Grand Forks on February 4, 1943. He graduated from St. Olaf College and then attended the University of Minnesota Law School. Early in his career, he joined the firm of Van Eps, Gilmore & Chantry, a firm which ultimately became Aafedt, Forde, Gray, Monson & Hager.
For the next five decades, he practiced in the specialty of workers’ compensation: first as a litigator and then as a mediator. He was an exceptional trial lawyer and a masterful mediator. He had tremendous success in his career and never let anyone forget about the landmark Lockwood decision!
He was gifted with a razor-sharp mind coupled with a manner that was as smooth as silk. He was admired by men and women alike. Men wished they were more like him, and women were glad that there was at least one of him.
In the competitive environment of a private law firm, Mike stood out as an exception to the rule. He promoted his associates and partners, without concern for loss of his own client following. Clients, of course, remained loyal, despite his reassurances that another attorney in the firm could handle the matter with similar success.
Mike married his college sweetheart, Pat, and they later had two sons, David and Matt. He shined in his role as a dad. He was fiercely proud of his sons and grandchildren. He cheered them on at their games and relished their academic and professional accomplishments. Matt and David were never left out of a coffee cup conversation.
After Pat’s death in 2007, he found love for a second time with Deb Sundquist. As she puts it, “he was her guy, and she was his girl.”
In the days and weeks leading up to his passing, Deb was a loving and faithful companion. She watched silly television shows with him, played his favorite music and soothed his hands and feet with essential oils. She welcomed all family members to join her in what turned out to be a very long goodbye.
It is a bitter irony that Mike, who had the quickest mind and the most charming personality, had his most precious traits taken from him by a cruel disease. Before his illness set in, he was always the wittiest man in the room - equally adept at extending a compliment or returning a clever reply.
Mick’s table at Murray’s Restaurant will always be his, just as Sid Hartman and Burt Lancaster have theirs. If you knew him, you were fortunate and, if you knew him well, you were dang lucky. May he rest in peace.
