Michael James Caylor

July 15, 1951 - February 4, 2016

Mike or Mikey as we all knew him was the first born son of Aura Magdalena Vargas Machuca and James F. Caylor. He was born in Long beach, California on July 15, 1951. Shortly after his birth his family moved back to Paita, Peru where his mother was originally from. There he spent his childhood in which his parents and grandfather and grandmother played a big role. He learned kindness, devotion to the Catholic traditions, civility and respect for others from them. He became the big brother to four siblings, James, Dennis, Gary and Guy. He took on his big brother role seriously constantly watching and advising and caring for his younger siblings. A favorite memory during this time in Peru as boys was in Pucusula the family hacienda. Bathing naked in the irrigation canals along with all the brothers. Bringing down honey combs and being chased by bees. Riding donkeys and playing with goats, catching river shrimp and cooking them with sweet potatoes. And raiding Uncle Tara and Kiko’s watermelon fields, and oh sweet memories of Miss Mina and Catalina at the elementary school No. 33 in Paita and later on attending San Juan Bosco private school in Piura. Before moving to the United States he took a three month road trip with his father and his brother James. The idea was to find a farm and settle down. They visited Texas, NM,, AZ, California, Oregon, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, Colorado, Oklahoma, and Kansas . It was exciting to see mountains, dessert, peach farms, etc. It was a pleasurable trip of discovery and awe seeing and experiencing snow for the first time! The decision was made to settle in Houston since it was a major shipping port and his father a ships captain. So at the age of 12, Mike and the rest of the Caylor’s transferred to the US. Mike attended Jones High School and went to San Jacinto College attaining his Associates degree in Electronics Engineering. He then pursued and furthered his education obtaining his Bachelor’s degree at the University of Houston in Electronic Engineering. During his studies at University of Houston Mike worked for Myrapac., a company that manufactured commercial packaging. Once graduated he then was hired on by Hycell; developers of medical devices dealing with clinical chemistry, hematology and immunology. His career then took him to Sercel; a leading design and manufacturer of seismic equipment and reservoir monitoring instruments. At Sercel, Mike worked on geophysics designing satellite and field mapping instrumentation for oceanic, jungle and dessert environments. Mike finished out his career in the consulting field in the same industry. He received much recognition throughout his entire professional career and was named in the Who’s Who in America in Electronic Engineering. Along these years in 1986, Mike married Julia Irene La Rosa with whom he had his pride and joy,Jennifer. He returned to Peru for Jennifer’s baptism. Mike wanted to make sure that his grandfather Don Napoleon met his great grandchild. Jennifer was the apple of his eye, she was his princess! He could not contain his excitement when in 1993 Mike and Irene took her to Disney World! If Mike could have given Jennifer the moon he would have! His eyes sparkled when he spoke of her and was very proud of her paintings and any accomplishment. He was a good husband and a good father and loved his family. Mike was a good brother and always available to help his brothers. He was a good listener and was very patient. He was constantly counseling and directing his brothers to reach higher. His initial dream was to be a doctor like his gran uncles and he would have been a great one at that! He was very patient, a good listener, a great problem solver and yes, he had a sense of humor! He loved to tell jokes and loved to have fun. His home was always open to family and friends. He was everybody’s friend! He was always ready for a good party and always ready for good food. He did have a passion for cooking. For Christmas he would make his famous cinnamon rolls! The rolls needed to be eaten right away because after a few hours they would be hard as rocks! They were delicious but no‐one dare tell him they became became stones! One particular Thanksgiving the parents were away and he took it upon himself to cook a Thanksgiving meal and help his brothers have a traditional meal. He cooked and cooked and voila it was ready. Everyone came to the table and he said it was a very special meal. He requested that they all behave in a civilized manner. Two of the brothers went for the turkey, and then it became a free for all! Next thing you knew the turkey was all gone! The meal was over in a flash! Well I guess Mike managed to give his brothers a special meal, one they will never forget! Mike had a very generous heart. He was very hospitable to family and friends without expecting anything in return. If you were in a pickle he was always there to help you out. If you didn’t have a shirt he would give you the shirt off his back! That is just the kind of person he was. We will miss his squirrely smile, his colorful jokes and sense of humor. We will miss his mischievous personality. Mike we will miss you but you will always be with us.