Alumni Spotlight Mike Wasik Class of 1991 When Mike Wasik graduated from De La Salle in 1991, he had no plans to join the family funeral business. Some 20 years later, he not only manages the Wasik Funeral Home location in Shelby Township, he is a past president of the Michigan Funeral Directors’ Association. For someone who went into sales after college, it’s a dramatic change. Mike attended Albion College, majoring in Business. “I liked Albion because it’s a smaller school, and it has an outstanding business program.” He also picked up some classes in biology and chemistry along the way. After graduation, he pursued a sales career, but didn’t care for the commission lifestyle. “It was a drag.” About the same time Mike was tiring of sales, in 2000, his father and uncle had decided to expand the family business into Shelby Township, at 22 Mile Rd. and Schoenherr.
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“I’m glad I made the move. My dad needed the help. He’s now 77, and slowing down. He only works six days a week,” joked Mike. Mike went back to school, earning his mortuary science degree from Wayne State in 2003. “With my biology and chemistry credits from Albion, along with a heavy course load, I was able to finish the degree in a little less time than most.” The Wayne State program, which used to be a two-year certification, is now a bachelor’s program. Like many funeral homes in the Detroit area, the Wasik Funeral Home business has been passed down from one generation to the next. The first location was opened by Mike’s great-grandfather, in 1904, on Dubois and Medbury, in the Poletown area of Detroit, across from St. Stanislaus Church. The next location was on Seven Mile Rd., between Hoover and Schoenherr, from 1965 to 1990. “We bought the funeral home on 13 Mile and Hoover from an existing family in 1989, and transitioned it to
Education is the most important thing you can put in your back pocket. the Wasik Funeral Home in 1990.” Besides Mike and his father, Mike’s sister and two cousins are also in the business. His uncle passed away this past summer, which Mike says “was a huge loss.” The two homes employ approximately 30 people. Mike loves his job. “It’s an honor to be here. You think about how it goes down. Here are people going through the worst experience they can have, and I’m the first one they call. I know I help people every day. That’s something not everyone can say.” He likens his role to that of a psychologist. “I listen a lot. The technical part of the job - the embalming - that’s only a small portion of the time. I listen to what the family has to say and help them focus on what they want for the service.” Mike also likens his job to an “event planner.” “I tell people this is like planning a wedding, but we’ve only got a couple days to pull this together. I help the family get to where they need to be. Arrange for flowers. Arrange for the service. Arrange for the reception.
