Article originally featured in the Oregon Transformation Newsletter
On April 7, Mike Fahey, CEO of Columbia Helicopters from 1999 to 2014, passed away after a short but brave battle with cancer at the age of 76. A native Oregonian, and graduate of Lake Oswego High School and Portland State University, Mike worked at Columbia Helicopters for 40 years, serving as right-hand man to the company’s beloved founder, Wes Lematta.
Before the Oregon Transformation Newsletter, the editors published a regional business/political publication, BrainstormNW magazine. Mike served on the board for all of the magazine’s 12 years of publication. He was the board’s leading force. Mike always firmly believed in the magazine, in its voice, and its mission.
Those who knew Mike, whether it was in the helicopter business, or his work with the Catholic Church, or his many, many civic causes for the underprivileged, or through his political and public policy involvement, as we did, knew that having Mike behind you, supporting your efforts, was like having the strongest and purest of tail winds at your back.
When we first met Mike, we were bowled over by his forceful personality and his insistence that people should “do the right thing” because that’s what good people did. Mike never allowed himself to be shaken or falter from that belief. He was, in baseball terms, “a switch hitting catcher who could hit for power.” He was the rarest of all commodities, a unique force of nature. We always knew Mike was standing firmly behind us.
We loved Mike and are so very grateful for his help, support and friendship. His was an important life.
Mike is survived by his wife and high school sweetheart, Penny, and their three children and nine grandchildren. He was surely taken home on eagle’s wings.
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