Michael Lewis George Schaertl, 69, passed away in his home on Thursday, June 25, 2026 after a 2-year battle with brain cancer. He was an incredibly loving husband, father, uncle, brother, friend, and Papa.

Michael was born on April 2, 1957 to Gerald Arthur Schaertl and Katherine Shellhammer. He grew up in Seneca Falls, New York with his sisters, Linda and Chris.

Mike loved his growing up years and spoke fondly of his childhood. He spent his summers on Cayuga Lake, racing sail boats (and winning!) with his dad. His dad was his best friend and drinking buddy and when they weren’t racing sailboats, they were water skiing in the summer or snow skiing in the winter.

Mike was an incredible musician. He started with the drums at an early age, often keeping his sisters awake and annoyed with his constant drumming (they actually really loved it). He would later learn to play the guitar and harmonica and learned to compose songs on the piano.

At the age of 12, while climbing a tree in upstate New York, Mike slipped and grabbed hold of a 12,500 volt wire. His heart stopped for 3 1/2 minutes, but through the help of others he was brought back to life. From that early experience, Mike knew that there was a life after death and a God who loved him and it became a spiritual North Star that guided him the rest of his life.

Mike grew up in the Catholic faith and wanted to be a Priest one day. He attended a private Catholic school where he often argued with the Nuns or had to be sent to the Priest’s office for disrupting class by making everyone laugh. Mike had a gift of making others laugh and telling stories that captivated everyone around him.

Mike worked alongside his dad as a mason. They worked on many cool projects, Mike’s favorite being the restoration of the Peter Whitmer home in Fayette, New York. At the completion of this project, the Prophet of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day-Saints came to see the home. Mike’s dad exclaimed, “Mike, you have to meet this guy; he’s like the Pope!”

Mike worked his “fanny” off and became an incredible lacrosse player. He led his high school and collegiate teams in goals scored. He went on to play at Niagara University where his speed affectionately earned him the name “Runs Like A Deer.”

While taking a break from school, Mike toured the world as a drummer in the band, Up With People. While traveling across the United States, he drove through a city with the most beautiful mountains he had ever seen and a feeling that this place was home. After learning from the bus driver that they were traveling through Provo, Utah, he knew he had to get back there one day.

After touring with UWP, Mike returned to Niagara University where he felt a strong nudge to leave (that’s putting it lightly, he described it as a panicked feeling, like a bomb was going to go off if he didn’t get out of there). He looked through his travel journal to find the name of the town he loved while on tour. He called up the Provo Chamber of Commerce and asked if they had a college and within a week he had packed up and driven across the country to transfer to Brigham Young University. His only knowledge about BYU came from his mom when she said, “Mike, I think that’s a religious school.”

The stories he told of coming to BYU as a Catholic are hilarious and always had people laughing. Mike often traveled around giving firesides where he shared his life story and his conversion from Catholicism to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day-Saints. Mike was baptized and joined The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day-Saints on March 1, 1980.

Mike continued with lacrosse at BYU where he became a strong leader and captain of the team (along with maintaining his streak as leading scorer). Mike met an incredible group of friends while living at University Villa in Provo, Utah. Friends that his wife and kids consider family. Mike met the love of his life, Janet Bingham, while living at the Villa. He often told the story of hearing the voice of an angel and had to meet whoever that voice belonged to. He spent the rest of the evening making himself sick eating s’more’s just so he could spend a little more time with her. Mike and Janet were sealed for time and all eternity in the Salt Lake City Temple on March 31, 1984.

Mike graduated from BYU with a Bachelors Degree in Film and Cinematography and spent the next 40+ years following his love and passion for making movies. Mike loved talking about working with Jim Carrey on Dumb and Dumber and how much he made everyone laugh. One of the highlights of his career was working on the hit TV series Touched by an Angel. It was on Touched by an Angel where he met crew members that became his family. Mike’s family finds great comfort in knowing that Kent Johnson (his brother from another mother) and Dave Stoddard were there to greet Dad in heaven and we can only imagine the projects they are working on now.

Mike was most proud of the work he did with the LDS Motion Picture Studio where he worked on projects for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day-Saints and was able to work and learn from President Gordon B. Hinckley, Russell M. Nelson and others. In his later years he passed his skills on to the next generation by teaching Cinematography at UVU. He absolutely loved his students.

Mike’s greatest joy was working with his kids and he loved having them on set with him. He loved introducing his kids to everyone and the pride he felt for his kids was evident in the way he talked about them.

If you knew Mike, you knew how deeply he loved his family. There was nothing that brought him more joy than making them laugh. He had a gift for turning ordinary moments into memories. He’d crank up the music and break into dance moves that had everyone laughing, or serenade his wife and kids with “Duckies in the Wind”—his unforgettable rendition of “Dust in the Wind,” complete with a Donald Duck voice and plenty of quacking.

Mike was completely adored by his grandkids. He was very involved in their life and he was their biggest cheerleader. He always showed up to their games, performances, and school projects. And his cheers were always the loudest. He coached his son’s and grandsons’ lacrosse teams, taught his grandkids how to play the piano and guitar, and helped them with movie projects. He will be missed tremendously by his 11 grandkids: Ali, Korver, Max, Peyton, Sadie, Summer, Milly, Nick, Emma, Jack and Connor.

Mike was welcomed home to Heaven by his parents and his Mother-in-law and Father-in-law, Joan and Howard Bingham.

Michael is survived by his sweetheart, Janet, and his children Brooke (Todd), Mickey, Michelle (Chad) and Scott along with his 11 grandkids.

Funeral services will be held on Thursday, July 2 at the Harvest Park Church Building, 1068 S. 1600 W. Mapleton, Utah at 11am. The Visitations will be held at the Harvest Park Church Building on Wednesday, July 1st from 6:00 until 8:00 pm and prior to the services on Thursday July 2 from 9:45 to 10:45 am. Please enter the church building through the South doors. Burial will be in the Mapleton Cemetery.

The funeral service for Michael Schaertl will be streamed live. Please return to his memorial page shortly before 11:00 a.m. on Thursday, July 2, 2026 and click on the link below.

Michael Schaertl Livestream Broadcast