Michael Scott Began

Michael Scott Began was born on April 16, 1968, in Portland, Oregon, and passed away in Savannah, Georgia, on June 15, 2026.

Michael is survived by his Father Ron, Mother Carolyn, brother, Mark; his wife, Rhonda, and their two daughters, Jaelyn and her husband, Josh Harrell, their sons, Landon, Declan, and Cayden, and daughter Lexie. He is also survived by Uncle Steve Rouse and his wife, Aunt Melody, and their children Jamie, and her Husband, Matt La voie their sons Andrew, Ethan, and daughters Mia and Joseiyn, and Jon Rouse and his wife, Katie, son Ben and daughters Reagan, Sayler, and Annie, and Aunt Bette Bosch, as well as many cousins and extended family members.

Michael lived in Milwaukie until he was almost two years old, when Ron accepted a position in Ukiah, California. While there, our family was involved in a wonderful startup church. One of our special memories is of Michael playing baby Jesus in the church Christmas program.

After Ukiah, we returned to Oregon, stopping in Bend for a short time before Ron found another job with Warn Industries in Milwaukie.

While still living in Milwaukie, Mike tried his hand at baseball, although that lasted only one season. When we moved to Damascus, he attended Damascus Grade School, and our family began attending Damascus Community Church.

It was during those years in Damascus that our family discovered one of Mike’s early loves—adventure and the outdoors. We started rafting with one of the families from church. Our family spent many wonderful days on the Deschutes River, driving up to camp one day and rafting the next morning to Maupin before heading home.

It was also in Damascus that we became good friends with the Mel Hoffman family. Our families spent many memorable campouts together. One of our favorite places was Wallowa Lake. We would take our boats and campers, water ski, fish, and enjoy the recreation area, including the go-karts. The deer were also frequent visitors to our camp and seemed especially fond of the marshmallows we gave them.

Mike went with family and friends from church to Pine Hollow over Memorial Day and Labor Day many times. On Sundays, our group would attend the church in Wamic. They loved having us visit because our group nearly doubled their congregation. We also enjoyed camping together at Fort Stevens State Park.

When Mike entered high school, Ron was transferred to the corporate office in Redmond, Washington. While there, our family attended Northshore Baptist Church.

After Mike graduated from high school, we took him on a cruise to the Bahamas. Mike had been working at McDonald's and had saved enough money to buy his first car. He and a friend from church celebrated by taking a weeklong vacation to California.

After that, Mike bought a jet ski. It was one of the early models where you stood up rather than sat down. He loved being on the water, and we spent many days enjoying the lakes around Redmond and Lake Chelan. We also had a boat and spent countless hours water skiing. These were wonderful memories of family, friends, sunshine, and Mike doing what he loved—being outdoors and having an adventure.

After four years, Ron and the team he supervised were transferred back to Portland.

Mike worked at McDonald's for another year or so after returning to Oregon. He continued to love jet skiing whenever he had the opportunity to get out on the water with family or friends. Eventually, however, he decided he was tired of the Oregon weather and moved to Las Vegas, where he worked at the airport fueling airplanes.

From Las Vegas, his adventures took him to Conyers, Georgia. His cousin worked for Sweetheart Cup Company and helped him get a job there as a warehouseman. It was during this time that Mike began attending Dr. Stanley's church, First Baptist Atlanta. He became involved in a singles group and really enjoyed being part of it.

At one of the retreats with the group, Mike truly accepted the Lord into his life. He was baptized in a river, and afterward, that was all he could talk about. He had made some wonderful friends through the church, and those relationships became an important part of his spiritual life.

While still working at Sweetheart, Mike decided to become a truck driver and earned his CDL. He went to work for Jason's Deli, which allowed him to continue attending the singles group and their evening dinners.

Eventually, Jason's Deli moved its operation to Rock Hill, South Carolina, and Mike relocated there and bought a house. He drove long distances, including trips halfway to Texas with an empty trailer, where he would exchange it for a full trailer and then drive back overnight.

Jason's Deli decided to use all Mexican drivers and laid off its existing drivers. By that time, Mike was also having some health issues, so he decided to return to Oregon.

When it came time to move him home, Carolyn went to the church he had been attending and asked if someone could help load our moving truck. Ron had recently had minor neck surgery and couldn't lift anything. The man the church directed Carolyn to was the head of Mayflower Moving. What a blessing that was.

He sent three movers, and they had everything out of Mike's two-story house in less than two hours. Then we were on our way back to Oregon.

Once back in Oregon, Mike's health improved, and he decided to try a job in St. George, Utah. He stayed there for a few years before returning to Oregon again.

He found a job hauling freight to the Portland port, but when the port shut down, he was once again looking for work. This time, he found a job hauling over Highway 58 to Klamath Falls and back. Everything was going well until one winter day when he hit black ice on Highway 58. His truck slid off the road, and brought his job to an end.

During this period, Mike was also trying to lose weight and joined Weight Watchers. He met a woman there, and they began spending time together. That relationship lasted about six months. Mike also enjoyed trading cars and bought himself a Mustang.

Before long, Mike decided to head to Arizona to look for another job.

He went to work for Duncan and Sons, hauling containers back and forth to the Long Beach terminal in California. It was a good job, but because he was always on his way to the port on Sundays, he wasn't able to attend church.

Eventually, Mike began looking for opportunities on the East Coast, particularly around Savannah, Georgia. He wanted to be close to the port and, most importantly, to have a job that would allow him to be home at night. After so many years of being on the road, he was tired of the over-the-road lifestyle.

He found a job in Garden City, Georgia, near Pooler, a suburb of Savannah. He bought a home in Pooler so he could finally be home every night.

But on the very day he moved into his new home, Mike tripped over the piece of wood that joined two floors and broke his foot.

Since he couldn't drive, he lost his job. Carolyn traveled down to Georgia to help unpack his new home. From that point on, Mike was mostly home bound because his broken foot was in a boot. He had only been in Georgia for about two months, had a new home, and didn't know many people there yet. Over time, his foot problems developed into lung problems, and he simply wasn't well. In the two months he was in Georgia he attended Compassion Church a few times.

One of the rare hurricanes came through Pooler about two years ago causing damage to a gate and his roof. The people from Compassion Church came over and repaired the gate and put tarps on the roof. . They also brought him food and continued to care for him. During those difficult years, one of the best ways Mike could participate in church was by watching the Sunday video services.

Mike had two passions. When fall came around it was football, He was a huge Seattle Seahawks fan for many years. He had Seahawks clothes, hats, jackets, and even a Seahawks rug. In Georgia it was Georgia Bulldogs College Team. 

His other passion was cruising. He completed a course to become a travel agent with Princess Cruise Lines, which gave him discounts on cruises. He then discovered their Captain's Circle Loyalty Tier program with points. He was on the Platinum tier and going Elite status on his last cruise. His final cruise was April 14 through April 23 of this year.

Mike wasn't feeling well on that final cruise and probably shouldn't have gone. A week after returning, he was hospitalized for the month of May. He then spent 14 days in a skilled nursing rehab center, where he developed an ulcer. He returned to the hospital for another two weeks because the ulcer was not healing due to complications from his diabetes.

Eventually, the ulcer led to sepsis and other serious complications. On Monday, June 15, 2026, Mike passed peacefully into the arms of his Lord.

When we think of Mike, we will always remember him as fun-loving, willing to help, adventurous, and willing to try new things, He will be missed.