Obituary of Michael George Urban

Mike Urban was born and raised in Akron, Ohio.  He attended the University of Cincinnati, obtaining a baccalaureate degree in aerospace engineering, and then worked for Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California for many years, working on the Voyager space projects and the International Space Station.  It was the Space Station project that brought him to Virginia, and he went on to earn a Master’s degree in mechanical engineering from the George Washington University.  Recently, he worked for several aerospace companies, including General Dynamics and Cornell Technology Systems.

Mike and his wife, Carol had two children, Joy and Keith.  Mike was an active and involved dad to both, teaching Keith to ride a unicycle like he did, and taking Joy to many softball games as she grew up.  He tirelessly supported his son through his cancer journey, doing all he could to make each day as positive as possible.  And he was a proud papa to see Joy graduate with degrees in kinesiology and nursing.

Mike is best known by friends for being the neighbor and friend everyone could count on.  He is remembered for being “the guy who could fix anything – cars, bicycles, water heaters – anything.”  He freely gave his time and advice, and would drop anything to help when he could.  In addition, his home was always the “dog spot” and he would invite the neighbor dogs over for a good romp with whichever dog was in-residence at the Urban household at the time.

Mike is remembered for being an outstanding engineer, for his kindness and many offers of assistance, his dry wit and jokes (often on himself), and he will be greatly missed by his family and friends.

"In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to your local animal shelter or the Humane Society."