Michael Paul Fix

September 18, 1943 - March 24, 2024

Michael Paul Fix, 80, of Eastchester, New York passed away March 24th, 2024 following a heroic fight with cancer that was diagnosed in December 2023.

Born on September 18, 1943 in Syracuse, New York, he was the first born son of Bernard and Doris Judge Fix. After the arrival of his brother, Thomas, the family moved around New York State, eventually settling in Torrington, Connecticut, where his mother was a teacher and his father was a metallurgist with The Torrington Company, which was eventually acquired by Ingersoll Rand. Michael was an active community volunteer with the Boy Scouts of America achieving the rank of Eagle Scout, and would remain active in championing the cause of scouting for the rest of his life.

Michael departed Torrington for Fairfield, Connecticut, where attended Fairfield University. He relished the Jesuit discipline, studied History and Philosophy, and discovered what would become a lifelong affinity for nearby New York City, where he would frequent live jazz performances and find an appreciation for art throughout the vast museums in the five boroughs. Upon his graduation in 1965, he was torn between a moral objection to the escalating Vietnam War and a dedication to his country. After some soul searching, he enlisted in the United States Army, training at Fort Dix and serving at Fort Hamilton in Brooklyn, New York where he was in leadership for a logistics company loading ships heading for Vietnam. 

After his honorable discharge, he explored the professional world, touring the Bronx and Westchester as a sales representative for 3M and starting a diaper company with partners in Norwalk, Connecticut. He moved to Pelham, New York, got the first of three beloved German Short-Haired Pointers and fathered two sons, Michael John and Paul Andrew. Eventually, he found his way to Merrill Lynch, starting as a retail broker. He worked through offices in New York City, including the locations at the GM  Building, Penn Towers and the MetLife building. He built a book of clients who became lifelong friends.

Leadership qualities led Mike to management at Merrill Lynch that brought him first to the Mount Kisco office of Merrill Lynch and then the Springfield, Massachussetts outpost where he was proud to have been responsible for the hiring of 50 plus financial advisors. During this time, his family lived for 7 years in nearby Longmeadow, Massachusetts. He finished his storied 41 year career at the Scarsdale and finally the White Plains office. 

But while serving his clients was the way he made his living, serving the communities he resided in was Michael’s true calling. In Pelham, he was an active member of the Chamber of Commerce, a leader of Little League teams and Scouting Troops. During the Gulf War, he joined the USO at Westover Air Force Base to ensure the mistakes of the homecoming treatment of soldiers he saw during the Vietnam War were not repeated. Upon returning to Westchester County, he became active in the American Red Cross, leading the Westchester Chapter in the days and months after September 11th. In Eastchester, he was active in the Rotary Club, where he served as a chair for the local Gift of Life Program. Through that effort, he helped raise funds for young children throughout the Americas, Europe and Asia with severe heart defects, arranged for their transportation to the US, comfort for their family and life-saving medical care from the power of the New York medical community to donate their time to these necessary surgeries. He served as a leader for the Eastchester chapter of the American Legion, renovating the Leroy Gregory Hall to become a premier event venue, along with an election center for the community and volunteered his time for Veterans causes like parades and memorials. He was an ardent supporter of the Eastchester Historical Society where he served in numerous roles, helping to document residents of Eastchester’s impact on the world. He taught students business, history and culture at Concordia College as an adjunct professor, and hosted museum shows on local heroes of World War I and World War II. His commitment to service throughout his life has been described as “a pillar of service in the community and if your phone rang, you knew Mike was going to be asking you to help with your time, your business or a donation to support a cause he was championing”. 

Michael was a lifelong student of history and art. He became a self-styled amateur expert on the Gilded Age, P.T. Barnum, Alexander Hamilton, Thomas Nast and many Robber Barons. He could give a detailed tour of almost any neighborhood in New York City, any town in Westchester County, and most places up the Hudson River and Connecticut River Valleys. He was skilled at the piano, though he stuck to his five favorite songs and wrote parodies for friends. He was a supporter of artists, particularly those in New England, and he frequented, with his wife, every gallery and museum he could. The family joke is, there isn’t a museum in the tri-state area that Mom and Dad haven’t been to, at least 5 times! 

He was also a lifelong teacher, taking several men and women under his wing as a financial advisor and manager. He had ambitious plans to move every assistant out of their role and into an advisor position. He always kept an eye out for veterans looking to transition from the military to business. Later in his life, as an adjunct professor at Concordia College, he put in extra effort to make sure his students had every opportunity to succeed. 

Mike is survived by his loving wife of 53 years Christine Naughton Fix; his son Michael J. Fix and his wife Alicia Luongo Fix of Melrose, MA, and his grandchildren Lillian Fix and Michael Peter Fix; his son Paul A. Fix and his wife Kathryn Harvill Fix, and his grandchildren Wyatt J. Fix, Virginia Fix and Evelyn Fix of Riverside CT; his brother Thomas Fix and his sister-in-law Kathy Fix of Torrington CT, along with his niece Tracey Fix and her family of Stamford CT, nephew Brian Fix and his family of Waltham MA, nephew Stephen Fix and his family of Enfield CT; along with countless nieces, nephews and two brother-in-laws in Ireland; cousins and extended family members throughout the US.  The outpouring of support from friends, neighbors, colleagues, clients, students and fellow volunteers in every community he touched demonstrates the impact he had on so many to serve life as a humble and kind human being to all in need. 

Visiting Hours are from 4 to 8pm on Monday, April 1, at Westchester Funeral Home in Eastchester, NY. A Mass of Christian Burial will take place on Tuesday, April 2 at 9.30 am at Church of Immaculate Conception, 53 Winter Hill Road in Eastchester NY. His burial with military honors will take place Tuesday April 2 at 2pm at Massachusetts Veterans Memorial Cemetery in Agawam, Massachusetts.  

To view a LIVESTREAM of the Funeral Mass please go to

https://icaparish.org/

A Celebration of Life will be held at a later date.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations to one of Mike's favorite causes

Eastchester Rotary Club

PO Box 301

Eastchester, NY 10709