BRUNSWICK HILLS TOWNSHIP, Ohio -- Up until six years ago, almost everyone who regularly traveled north on Pearl Road would know where Michael’s Mini Mart was.
And those who stopped in would know its vibrant owner, Michael A. Esber, who always seemed to have a friendly smile.
Many others in the community knew him as a Brunswick Hills Township trustee, a position he held for 16 years. He helped guide the township through many transitions over that time.
Mike, as most people knew him, passed away March 20 at age 69 after a valiant fight against cancer.
Mike grew up in Parma, graduating from Normandy High School. He moved here to open his business and met his wife, Katherine, when he was a client at Huntington Bank, where she worked. They were married 38 years.
He even convinced her to run for office -- she currently is serving her second term as fiscal officer of the township.
Katherine says that while he owned the store, they didn’t do much traveling, even though he was an enthusiast and especially enjoyed traveling to historic places.
He loved food, and even created a small café inside the Mini Mart where his regular customers could drink coffee, eat and chat.
One of those customers was former Brunswick resident Ray Walter, who once owned the ice cream store at Mapleside Farms. They became fast friends and talked often.
“He’s a great friend,” Walter said, “and I’m better for having known him. I’m really going to miss him. He was always so concerned and involved in the community.
“We had lunch together a month ago,” where Walter said he could tell that Mike wasn’t doing well.
They were also golfing partners. Mike was never very good at golf, his wife and friend both said, but he enjoyed it.
“We would have a foursome in golf outings with his son, Chad, and Trustee John Withhun. We always had a good time,” Walter noted.
Katherine said he also collected key chains and especially enjoyed following the stock market.
“When he was working in the store, he would have the TV tuned to CNBC from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. so he could watch the ticker tape,” she said.
“He was also generous.”
Every year for many years, the couple provided a scholarship to one graduating boy and girl based on academic achievements.
“He knew athletes could always get a scholarship,” she said, “but sometimes smart kids got left out.”
Brunswick residents may remember the year the city couldn’t afford fireworks for the Fourth of July. He pitched in with a donation and helped raise enough money for a great show.
He also pitched in when the township hall needed repair, and on many other occasions where help was needed.
One year, he agreed to take a pie in the face to raise money to help the Brunswick Area Historical Society raise funds to repair the farmhouse at Heritage Farm.
He always had wanted to see the Rocky Mountains, and though he was on oxygen and in a wheelchair, his wife, sister and friends flew with him to Denver, then drove to the mountains and took the Royal Gorge train.
“He absolutely loved it,” Katherine said. “It was fabulous.”
Above all else, Katherine said, Mike was a family man -- a loving husband, father, grandfather and brother.
In addition to Katherine, he is survived by his sons, Michael P. Esber, Chad Esber (Jillian) and Derek Beck (Vicky Chan); grandchildren Morgan, Lily, Hailey and Taylor Esber; and siblings, Edward (Peggy), Dennis, Kenneth (Therese), Richard (Sharon) and Steve Esber, Lisa Bart and Matthew Esber.
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