Michael C. Studier

Michael Craig Studier, 82, of Plainfield, Illinois, died on March 6, 2026 at Ciel Senior Living. Born on March 9, 1943 in Aurora, Illinois, to Norman and Ruth Holmes Studier, he graduated from East High School in 1960 and earned Bachelor of Science and Master of Science degrees in Industrial Engineering from the University of Illinois-Chicago. He served in the United States Army in Vietnam.

Michael pursued a varied and inventive career. He worked as a licensed Honda motorcycle mechanic and owned Mike the Bike, a motorcycle accessory and service shop in Chicago. He later designed yachts for Broward Marine and Denison Marine in Florida, and served as a Manufacturing Engineer for John Crane International in Morton Grove, Illinois. In retirement, he and his wife Julie established Tower Hill Farm, LLC in Michigan, where they earned organic certification for their orchard and farm.

A talented musician in his younger years, Michael played several instruments, with a particular love for the piano. He had a lifelong passion for machines, from tinkering with bicycles, lawn mowers, motorcycles, and old Volkswagen bugs to restoring antique tractors in later life. He was known as a voracious reader and a clear, logical thinker.

He is survived by his wife of 57 years, Julia Netter Studier; his children, Fenton Thomas “Tom” Studier and Andrea (Dale) Burchfield; grandchildren Erin (Robert) Rypka, Robert Burchfield, William (fiancée Gina Russo) Burchfield, Dane Studier, and Simon Studier; and three great-granddaughters, Zoleen Rypka, Emma Rypka, and Eleanor Rypka. He is also survived by his stepson Daniel (Nichola) Minton, three step-granddaughters, two step-great-grandsons, and his sister Emmylou Studier (Charles Larry). He was predeceased by his parents, special aunts Mildred Holmes and Aloha Lawver, and first wife Sandra Vanderhoof Utsch.