Lawrence Michael “Mike” Elliman
Lawrence Michael “Mike” Elliman, 85, of Bainbridge Island, Washington, passed away peacefully on July 29, 2022, at PeaceHealth St. Joseph Hospital in Bellingham, Washington.
Mike was born on May 8, 1937, to Rhea Munroe Elliman and Lawrence Bogart Elliman. Mike grew up in New York, New York. He attended grade school at St Bernard’s School. Mike attended high school, was an honor student, and played hockey at St Paul’s Episcopal School in Concord, New Hampshire. He attended Princeton University where he played hockey and graduated in 1959 with a degree in Latin American Affairs.
Mike spent eight years with Chase Manhattan Bank in Panama where he was known as “the flying banker.” Mike spent two additional years with Chase Manhattan Bank in Nassau Bahamas before returning to the United States where he became the founding director of Pacific Union Bank and Trust in Menlo, California. After several years in the banking industry, Mike shifted his focus to asset management and real estate development. He started a video and satellite TV store in St Helena, California. Mike was the founder of the Lawrence Gallery of Fine Art in Yountville, California. He retired in 1994 to Whitefish, Montana with summers spent on Blakely Island, Washington.
A true renaissance man, Mike was determined from an early age to use his talents to the fullest potential. He learned to sail and fly in his early 20s, two passions he would go on to celebrate for the next 50 years of his life. Using his unique opportunities for good, he spent years flying doctors, nurses, missionaries and supplies into the Sand Blas Islands of the Kuna Indian Tribes in Panama. Mike participated in the Angel Med Flight Program in San Francisco, California. Mike was involved in the Big Brother program in Whitefish, Montana where he remained active in one family’s life for 16 years.
Mike could be found in the early hours skiing down the ski runs on Whitefish Mountain Resort. He loved interesting conversations and was endlessly curious about the lives of others. Art was his love language, as he enjoyed the creativity of others. The only thing that eclipsed Mike’s love of art was his love of dogs. He preferred rescues over purebreds, and many joked that when they died, they “hoped to come back as one of Mike Elliman’s dogs.” Mike was a member of the Episcopal Church in Whitefish, Montana where he met his wife, Sally. They were married in Kauai in 2001. Mike and Sally would go on to spend the next 22 years as co-pilots in a fun-filled life of great adventure.
Mike was preceded in death by his father Lawrence Bogart Elliman; his mother Rhea Monroe Elliman; his sister Rhea Alexander; and his faithful rescue pups Cody, Lucky and Lucy. He is survived by his wife Sally Elliman; his daughters Michele Elliman; Jackie (Robert) Leonard; his sons Christopher Elliman; Jonathan (Sarah) Elliman; stepchildren and grandchildren. There will be a Celebration of Life Service on Saturday, Sept. 3, 2022, at 4 p.m. at St Barnabas Episcopal Church on Bainbridge Island, Washington. Please sign the Book of Memories, light a candle and leave your condolences for the family at www.JernsFH.com