SFC Michael James Halley

SFC Michael James Halley
United States Army, Retired
September 16, 1941 ~ April 13, 2026

Mike died on April 13, 2026, at the age of 84 after a long, sometimes tumultuous, but always joyous, one-on-one battle with Father Time.

Mike was born in Los Angeles, California on September 16th, 1941, to Mariel and Edward Halley. He went to live with his foster parents, Julia and Gus Tyler, in Burbank, California at the age of eight. Mike attended school in Burbank, graduated from John Burroughs High School in 1959.

Mike studied engineering for a year at Glendale City College before deciding to join the Army.

Mike enlisted in the Army in May of 1960 and, after basic training at Fort Ord, California, reported to Fort Monmouth, New Jersey for seven months of electronics training. Graduating as a Microwave Radio Maintenance Technician he was first assigned to White Sands, NM and then, in 1961, to Kashiwa, Japan. In Kashiwa, Mike met and married Mitsuko Miura in 1963, a union that produced two beautiful daughters:
Mariel Julia (April 1964) and Michelle Jean (September 1965).

Unfortunately, the marriage could not survive the constant deployments and ended in divorce.

The ensuing years saw Mike deployed to Vietnam (1965-1966), Berlin, Germany (1968-1970), Vietnam (1970-1971), Berlin, Germany (1971-1977) and finally Mannheim, Germany (1978-1981). In 1971 during his second tour in Berlin, Mike met Gisela Schewe, the love of his life.

Mike retired from the Army in December of 1981 in Mannheim, Germany and in January of 1982 went to work for ITT Industries as an Electronics Technician. Mike worked for ITT in Germany, Italy, Turkey, Greece and various countries in the Middle East in positions of ever-increasing responsibility, finally returning to Sierra Vista in late 1997.

He continued to work for ITT, traveling to Europe and the Middle East as a Project Troubleshooter, finally retiring from ITT as Director of Special Projects in 2002. After retirement from ITT, Mike started a consulting business, continuing to work with defense companies on international business opportunities until his final retirement in 2007.

After retirement Mike was a member of the Sierra Vista Citizen Police Association and volunteered for many years at the Sierra Vista Police Department.

Mike was also a member of The Huachucans. He was a vivid golfer.

Mike's love of travel and languages saw him and Gisela continue to travel to the far corners of the World, taking one or two overseas trips each year until failing health slowed him down.

Mike was preceded in death by his parents, his foster parents and his first wife, Mitsuko. He is survived by his darling wife, Gisela; his daughters Julia Hagy (Richard) and Michelle Compres; four Grandchildren, and many Great-Grandchildren.

Committal services with military honors will be held on Thursday, April 23, 2026 at 1pm at the Southern Arizona Veterans' Memorial Cemetery, located at 1300 Buffalo Soldier Trail, Sierra Vista, Arizona 85635. Those who wish to attend should arrive at the cemetery in the staging area by 12:30pm.  Following services a gathering with refreshment at the Sierra Vista Golf Center between 2pm and 4 pm, located at 2770 St. Andrews Drive, Sierra Vista, Arizona.

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