Lasting Memories

Frank Michael Sowerwine
April 25, 1966-Nov. 20, 2022
Alameda, California

Long-time Alameda resident Frank Michael “Mike” Sowerwine passed away at home after a valiant six-year battle with ALS on November 20, 2022. He was 56.

Mike was born in New York City to David and Heide Sowerwine and spent much of his early childhood in Indonesia and Honduras, something he attributed to giving him a worldly view.

When he was 13, both parents remarried. Heide married Jerry Vriesenga and David married Haydi, expanding the number of siblings he had from one (his sister Jenny) to seven (Todd, Jeff and Stacie Vriesenga, and Tony, Nelt “Ed”, and Matthew Curci).

Mike moved from Menlo Park with his Dad and his new combined family to Salinas for a few years. He played varsity soccer, ran track, and participated in the Boy Scouts, graduating from Salinas High in 1984. During his high school summers, Mike lived with Heide and Jerry in Hawaii, working the pineapple fields alongside Todd. He attributed the personal balance he found in his life to being raised by two loving but different sets of parents.

Mike graduated from UC Davis in 1989 and joined the forensic accounting firm HSNO, where he enjoyed assisting people and businesses for over 30 years. He earned his CPA license and became a respected partner in the firm.

In 1996, Mike married Jennifer Mansfield and had two children, Owen and Kate.

After some years as a single Dad, Mike met Amy Roizen in 2013. Diagnosed with ALS in 2017, he proposed while on a bucket list trip to Africa, and they married soon after, blending their five children between them — Owen, Kate, and Amy’s sons Marcus, Tanner, and Will.

Even after diagnosis Mike continued to travel, with visits to South Africa and Uganda, Slovenia and Croatia and return visits to Honduras and Hawaii.

Mike was a longtime Giants season ticket holder. Even when bound to a wheelchair he managed to get to Giants games. As late as this past summer fraternity brothers honored him with a tribute on the jumbotron.

Mike retired in 2019, due to the limitations of ALS. Even as his voice, strength and mobility declined, Mike’s spirit remained strong and his mind sharp. Committed to improving the lives of people and families living with ALS and finding a cure for this disease, Mike participated in a clinical study and became a generous donor to several ALS research and charity funds.

Mike was gregarious and fun-loving, an extraordinary chef and entertainer and a devoted Dad, husband, son and brother, a trusted confidante, and a true and loyal friend.

He is survived by his wife Amy, all four of his parents, all seven of his siblings, and all five of his children and a number of nieces and nephews.