Michael D. Faulhaber - Beloved son of Jackie Faulhaber and Arthur DeLisle;  loving brother of Steven (Katina) DeLisle, Cody (Daniella), Destiny and Hope Faulhaber; dear grandson of Lana and the late Jack Faulhaber and the late Viola DeLisle;  dear uncle of Kyler, Evan, MacKenzie, Caden and Caleb;  nephew and cousin of many and loved by all. Visitation Monday 3-8 p.m. at Cooney Funeral Home 3918 W. Irving Park Rd. Chicago.  Funeral Tuesday, friends are asked to meet at Immaculate Conception Church for Mass at 10 a.m.. Interment private.  Info 773-588-5850 www.cooneyfuneralhome.com  

Michael D Faulhaber, son of Jackie Faulhaber and Bo DeLisle. The day Michael’s story here on Earth began was on January 30, 1991. Michael was born with one of the rarest forms of muscular dystrophy with no life expectancy rate. Right off the start Michael proved he was going to be a special human. Growing up he faced many hardships including not being able to walk, struggling to make friends because of his condition, not being able to do things a normal child can do without help and much more. 

Michael’s life was mainly spent in a little town called Norridge in Illinois. Recently, Michael became a homeowner and he was very proud of the home he helped his family get. Michael loved watching wrestling, going to MDA camp, computers, playing video games and more. When Michael got to do Make A Wish, his wish was to meet the famous wrestler known as Chris Jericho. He was flown to Ohio and given backstage passes to wrestling. Chris Jericho met him and his family, took pictures with him and even talked to Michael, telling him to stay strong and never give up. Michael took those words and ran with them, proving time and time after again that he was not giving up. 

Michael got to spend many summers attending MDA camp and was able to feel at home there. Him and his best friend, the late Chaz Rhode, got to go together and would attend every summer, bunking in the same room. This camp was designed to show everyone with MD (Muscular Dystrophy) that they were not alone. Michael would tell his family of all the fun things they did, from having a 3-day long monopoly game tournament, to singing and eating at bonfires, to playing sports and having a good time outside. It may have only been a short couple of weeks, but to Michael it meant the world. He was surrounded by people who related to him and helped lessen his pain of dealing with something not many people suffer through. Michael was always a role model for anyone he met.

School was where Michael excelled at the most. He was always top of his class and even kind enough to tutor those (mainly his younger siblings) who needed assistance. Michael in high school was invited to join the National Honor Society in his Junior year. Being a part of NHS granted him a full ride scholarship to Illinois Institute of Technology. He would end up getting a bachelor’s degree in computer programming. He was in the works of starting up his own computer repair business before his health started to decline. His goal was to create a program that would be used worldwide and worked on coding every single day. He built his own PC from scratch and had the best triple monitor set up. He would play video games with his friends for hours.

 Michael developed a passion for video games at a very young age. This was his biggest escape from reality. When Michael was having a rough day, or just wanted to forget about something, you could always find him playing video games. He would meet some awesome people and start his own community of friends. They would play for countless hours, laughing, goofing off and having a great time. He would talk about all his friends and everything going on in their lives. He was their mentor, psychiatrist, and friend. He would listen to all their worries and issues. Michael was a very quiet individual about his own health issues but loved to help those he could. His online gaming community respected him more than he knows. Michael lived a prosperous life and always saw life with a positive outlook. 

In the wise words of Martin Heidegger, “If I take death into my life, acknowledge it, and face it squarely, I will free myself from the anxiety of death and the pettiness of life - and only then will I be free to become myself.” Michael had told his family that when the time comes for him to depart from this world that he was okay with it. He lived the life he wanted and was happy with how his life went. Michael’s story will not go away with his passing. In fact, through all his family and friends he will be remembered for the individual he was. A loving and caring son, brother, nephew, cousin, and godfather who would go out of his way to help anyone whose path he crossed. We are honored and grateful to have been chosen as your family. We will never let you be forgotten. We love you. Always and forever.