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ODESSA - Stephen Mickel (Mike) Carrigan was born to Allen Carrigan and Frances Laverty Carrigan on July 3, 1947 in Corsicana, Texas. He went to be with the Lord on January 30, 2020 in Odessa, Texas after a lengthy illness.
He attended Hood and Crockett Junior high school and graduated from Odessa High School in 1965.
He loved music and played the tuba in the marching bands at Ector, Odessa and the stage bands at Odessa High School and later at Odessa College. He also worked on the OHS band equipment committee and served as band chaplain. While in college, he was paid along with other students to sing in St. John's Episcopal choir.
He worked in his parent's grocery store after high school and on weekends. He had associate degree from Odessa College and attended A & M University in College Station.
He worked for many years for Rexene, Huntsman and Koch Industries. He went to work for Granite Industries and GE traveling through the Northwest United States building wind turbines, retiring in 2010.
He loved life, music and spending time with friends and family. He loved hunting and fishing with his brothers, children and grandchildren. He never met a stranger and was always ready to share his love for the Lord with everyone that he met.
He shared life lessons with his grandchildren, nieces and nephews.
He loved them deeply. He taught them all to fly kites and to chase them and chase rockets.
He was an active member of Northside Baptist Church and chaplain of the Odessa Camp of Gideon's International.
He is survived by his wife Sharyn Gardenhire Carrigan who he lovingly called Elizabeth. 5 Children: Patricia Warwick of Brenham, TX; Bill Taylor and wife Deborah of San Antonio, TX; John Carrigan and wife Candy of Odessa, TX; Tom Taylor and wife Monique of Frisco, TX and Bradley Taylor and wife Traci Taylor of Apache Junction, AZ. 11 grandchildren and 2 great grandchildren.
Mike is also survived by his sister Patrice Alldredge of Odessa TX; brother Wayne Carrigan of Odessa, TX; sister in law Loraine Carrigan of White Oak, TX. Numerous nephews, nieces and friends.
Visitation will be on Sunday, February 2, 2020 from 2p.m. to 5p.m. at Hubbard-Kelly Funeral Home. Service will be held at 2:00p.m. on Monday, February 3, 2020 at Northside Baptist Church located at 100 W. 50th St. Odessa, TX. Interment will follow at American Heritage Cemetery at 4100 N. FM RD. 1788.
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Madelyn Carol Cochran (Farmer)
i never know what to say except that i remember you as a cute little red-haired boy when we were in elementary school.and that i towered over you. but hey, i towered over all the boys (and most of the girls) when i was in elementary school. i lost touch with you when we graduated and many years later i was delighted to find you were married to sharyn gardenhire. i know y'all had many happy years together which will live on in memory. when i was helping sharyn with the gardendale park you took me into your home to spend the night and fed me some great food from out on your grill. i thank you for that. you will definitely be missed. love, madelyn cochran farmer
Forrest Allen Ward
Mike was a friend the whole time we were growing up. Mike Carrigan and I grew up on the northwest side of Odessa. He and his family lived around the corner from my Uncle & Aunt. After my sister and I lost our parents, we lived with that Uncle and Aunt. My father grew up with Allen Carrigan in East Texas (between Athens and Cayuga). Both families have relatives in the same graveyard. My dad and Allen went to school together. So, there is that connection. Mike and I were in the Crockett Junior High School Band. He played the tuba (big Souzaphone), and I played the cornet. We went on to play in the Odessa High School band, too. Mike drove a white hump-backed '58 Volvo. He could get that huge tuba in the back seat, too. Mike had a great sense of humor and we all had fun with him. I was thrilled when Mike and Sharyn got married. They loved one another immensely. Mike was a wonderful presence who could be counted on. I am grateful I knew Mike all those years in Odessa. Though I am sad about the loss, I know where Mike is and we should all celebrate his faith, his character, his love for his family, and his wit.
Burton "Burt" Purvis
Mike and I played in the band together. I was a late comer to the group that ran around together but was included. Mike and the Old Volvo were always a part of the action. There were so many times he brought his unique brand of humor and "life" to what ever we were doing. A lot of good memories becasue of you and Forrest and others that were close. Thank you Mike for some great memories and special gifts you shared. A life well lived and shared.
Paul W. Judkins
On a September morning in 1954, I walked into Mrs. Trotters second grade classroom at Austin Elementary with the nervous excitement that starting a new school year always brings. Mrs. Trotter pointed to the desk that was to be mine for the remainder of the school year. Across the aisle next to me was a red-headed kid with a smile that stretched almost from ear to ear. Little did I understand at the moment that this was the beginning of a wonderful friendship that has endured to this day.
Over the decades, Mike and I shared countless adventures, many of which can only be explained by the understanding that we were two goofball teenage boys. That being said, I wanted to share my most enduring memory from all our times together. . .also happened in our second-grade year. 1952 had seen the beginning of an epidemic of highly contagious polio that was continuing unabated. By 1954 Jonas Salk and his team had developed a new vaccine against Polio and the government decided that school children should be inoculated as quickly as possible.
As you might guess, Mrs. Trotter’s class was headed for a date with a needle. She told us it would be best if we choose soup for our lunch in the cafeteria. So, there we were, Mike and me standing in the vaccination line holding hands and absolutely scared to death. We promised each other that we would not cry when it came to be our turn. Mike didn’t know it but I was an incredible sissy about getting shots. When the moment arrived, Mike went first and I can still see him as plain as if it happened yesterday, standing with his sleeve rolled up, with his chin in the air and his bottom lip sticking out ready for the firing squad. He got his shot without flinching, then took a few steps away from the nurse and turned and looked straight at me. Oh man, my goose is cooked now, I have to keep my word to Mike no matter how bad it might hurt. I couldn’t believe how brave he was. When the nurse called out “Next” I stepped up, looked away from her so she couldn’t see the fear written all across my face. I felt the sting in my arm, a slight dull ache as the vaccine flowed in and then just as quickly . . . it was over! Unknowingly, he had helped me find courage I never knew I had. Mike’s face lit up with that famous big smile of his, he took my by the hand and said . . ."Let’s go get some soup!” In that moment, he became my closest friend.
Today it my privilege to say that friendship is still just as alive and well as it has been for the past 66 years. This past Monday, with a very heavy heart, I was granted the incredible honor to be one of his pallbearers. My profound sense of loss and is only offset by all the joy he gave me in our years as pals.
Paraphrasing Mathatma Gandhi – “There are no goodbyes for us, old friend. Wherever you are, you will always be in my heart.”