MENLO PARK, Calif – April 15, 2008 – The Rev. Michael Spillane, rector of Holy Trinity Episcopal Church, died on April 15 from complications of a brain tumor. He was 58.

A memorial service to celebrate Father Mike's life on earth will be held this Saturday, April 19, at 3:00 pm at the church, 330 Ravenswood Ave at Laurel, followed by a festive reception in the courtyard.

Father Mike’s call to become the 17th rector of Trinity last year led him to return to Menlo Park where he’d earned his Masters in Divinity at St. Patrick’s Seminary. He became an Episcopal priest in 1992 and previously served in the Diocese of Idaho.

In an essay Father Mike wrote about his spiritual journey, he talks about an influential priest he met while he was a home beat officer (Bobbie) in London, describing him as “approachable, someone with a sense of humor who liked to kick the soccer ball around.” The description fit him just as well.

He was also deeply spiritual, writing in the same essay: “I now realize that in some sense everything that happens in our lives, from the mundane to the spectacular, is part of one’s spiritual journey. It is an autobiography that we are all writing each day about how God is present in each moment of our lives, and more importantly, how we respond to that presence.”

Father Mike leaves his wife, Julie, and two children, Brendan and Kim of Menlo Park, his mother, Kathleen Spillane, of New York City, and two brothers, Kieran of Louisville, KY, and Brendan of Katonah, New York.

Those wishing to make a memorial in Father’s Mike name can make a contribution to the Spillane Children Education Trust at any Wells Fargo Bank or by making a check out to that account name and mailing to Holy Trinity, 330 Ravenswood Ave. Menlo Park, CA 94025.