Amherst man to be remembered for love of history with memorial

AMHERST — Michael Pack loved history. "I never met somebody that loved history as much as he did," said his father, David Pack. "It was his favorite subject." Michael, who graduated in 2017 from Marion L. Steele High School, found his passion early. "He always liked history, but he really got into it in second grade when his teacher told him about the Underground Railroad. We had to go out to Oberlin to see this plaque and read all about it, and after that it was all history, history, history." That was the year he met Jacob Kelley, one of his lifelong best friends. Not long after, Jacob was a Lego brick for Halloween; Michael dressed up as Abraham Lincoln. "Michael always loved history and I did too, so we both bonded over it," Kelley said. "He really loved presidential history. He was very politically involved, into current politics and things like that and he even helped me run for class president and I won." The night of Feb. 1, 2023, Michael was out with his family at dinner to celebrate his dad's birthday. He had just gotten vacation time from his job and was planning a trip to Harper's Ferry, West Virginia, and Gettysburg, two major Civil War historic sites. He died that night of a pulmonary embolism, one week short of being 24. To honor his friend's memory, Kelley spearheaded an idea with the blessing of Michael's family: the Michael Pack memorial bench and Little Free Library to be installed at the Amherst Historical Society. A dedication ceremony will take place at 6:30 Tuesday by the P.O.W. Barracks and Military Museum at Sandstone Village, 763 Milan Ave. "I presented the idea to his mom in the past, and when she came to me and said they were ready for it, we got the planning in motion. We started the GoFundMe, bought the little library and the bench, and set the date," Kelley said. Kelley, who lives in Orlando, will be in Amherst for the dedication and speak about his friend at the event. A check "just short of $1,000" will be donated to the Amherst Historical Society in his name and a plaque bearing Michael's name will be installed at the society. Another plaque, handmade by David Pack, will be affixed to the library, which Kelley said will be stocked initially with history books for all ages. It's a suitable tribute for his "very compassionate" son, who loved wearing military clothing passed down from great-uncles, who wanted to be a museum tour guide, who struggled in school but was in advanced history classes, his father said. "It's fitting for him to be remembered in the way he wanted to be remembered, and in a spot where history is celebrated. It was a great passion for him," he said. His mom used to work as the lunch lady at her son's high school, and still loses her breath for a minute when she recalls her son's empathy for others. "If he knew somebody didn't have lunch, if he saw kids who came to school without any food, he would say 'Mom, can you pay for their lunch?' He would always make sure they didn't go hungry,'" she said. "The night he passed, he wanted to go to Harper's Ferry and Gettysburg. Later we went there, my husband and I, and sprinkled some of his ashes so he'd be there." In his obituary, the family requested donations to conservation efforts to restore American battlefields in lieu of flowers. Since he's passed, a handful of his close friends still come by every Christmas. His mother can still picture them as young teens in high school, sitting around her kitchen table and talking politics. Every Mother's Day they send her texts to tell her they're thinking of her and how much Michael loved her, Sandy Pack said. "He had such good, good friends." Contact Rini Jeffers at rinijeffers@gmail.com