Michael Andrew Pilla

Michael Andrew Pilla passed away on Sunday, January 18, 2026.

 He is survived by his lovely wife Winifred (a.k.a., Mum or Mummy); sons Michael, Chris; daughter Susanne; and sister Merceda.

As I have been tasked with writing his obituary, I sit here thinking, "how do I best memorialize a man who did so much while he was here?" I fear that I will not do his memory justice.

Michael was a brilliant engineer who strived for excellence and mastery at everything he attempted, not only in his chosen profession, but even in his personal life and hobbies. He earned his BS, MS and PhD in Computer and Electrical Engineering from MIT in only seven years while working full time, married with a child and two more on the way. He even started and successfully ran his own company for a while.

It seemed that whatever he put his mind to, he was able to accomplish and accomplish well. He brought a spirit of excellence and pride to doing things well, even if no one else saw it. This approach sometimes created striking visuals, like when he took up cycling for health and chose black and yellow striped riding gear. My mother said he looked like a giant bumblebee.

Even simple things like trying to build a bookcase from Ikea made him realize that he could do a much better job. I remember as a young kid helping him put together those homemade bookcases of his own design that far outlasted anything we could have bought from Ikea.

Anytime he was trying to do something for the first time, he might glance quickly at a manual or a set of instructions and already knew as much or more than the person who actually wrote the manual! It could be a little intimidating having a father who could do almost everything better than anyone else even on the first try.

I remember helping him build his last airplane, an aerobatic homebuilt plane, a Van’s Aircraft RV4. It was a traditional tube frame and outer aluminum skinned construction where we formed the outer panels by hand and attached them to the body of the frame. I remember the first winter visit when I was helping him in that cold New Jersey garage. He made me practice by cutting scrap aluminum by hand, as well as learning to place rivets by hand on those same scrap pieces before he let me help him on the real plane. And because Susanne was the smallest of the kids, she was responsible for bucking rivets inside confined spaces like the tail. Even on the areas that no one would ever see, he insisted on the quality of the fit and finish. It was almost like art.

Michael (a.k.a., Fa or Deddy) had a passion for flying that he inherited from his father. He learned to fly from him and had his first solo flight in an already vintage tail dragger Piper J3 Cub. Kind of like an old VW beetle in the sky - slow but safe and simple. He would teach all us kids to fly as well. We all had many good memories of day trips to places like Pennsylvania Dutch Amish communities where he would fly us for early morning breakfast, trying Scrapple for the first time (don’t ask what Scrapple is made from!). We would also bring home warm soft pretzels from those same places.

A few years later, Michael would fly Chris and myself to Oshkosh for the annual fly-ins, where we also got to volunteer to bring the antique and vintage pre–WWII Biplanes and WWII era Warbirds onto the front flight line. The sights and the sounds of those vintage planes are still fresh in my mind all these years later. Fa even paid for Chris and me to ride with others in an old Ford Trimotor tin plane from the 1920’s. It was very loud! He also paid for each of us to actually fly and pilot in the open cockpit copilot seat of a prewar Stearman Biplane with that loud impressive radial engine that seemed to vibrate every part of your body!

We also got to meet and shake hands with Pappy Boyington, the WW II Marine Ace fighter pilot who flew vintage Corsair fighter planes in the Pacific against the Japanese. He wrote a book called “Baa Baa, Black Sheep" and had a very popular TV show based on his book at that time. Meeting him was an experience that my brother and I will never forget!

Michael also had a wonderful sense of humor, introducing us kids to British humor like Monty Python's Flying Circus on PBS back in the 70’s. We also saw “Monty Python and The Holy Grail” back in the summer of 1975 when it first came out. After the movie, when we got home, Chris, Susanne and I would reenact classic scenes from the movie. Fa also exposed us to Mel Brooks via Young Frankenstein and Blazing Saddles! And of course, the whole Pink Panther movie trilogy in the 70’s with Peter Sellers! I think our impressionable young minds were permanently warped from all those 70’s comedic influences! Thanks Fa!

Michael also loved to try new things, including skiing, skydiving, motorcycling, hang gliding, sailing, etc. He was also an avid modeler and taught us kids how to build and fly model rockets and radio control model planes and helicopters. I’m sure Chris and Susanne have some stories to share there as well. He also had a knack for finding new and interesting and exotic places to eat for the first time, well before they became popular with others. That was always interesting.

Speaking of interesting, that was his foray into Chinese cooking. Mum started pharmacy school in 1975, and to take some pressure off while she studied, Fa decided to take cooking lessons. It seems engineering skills don't translate directly to cooking skills. His first family dinner was Sweet and Sour Pork - emphasis on the sour. When Fa asked me how it was, I tried to be diplomatic and replied that it had "texture" (a euphemism for rubbery). Fa was deflated, said he thought it wasn't too bad for a first attempt. I remember thinking about the next 5 years while Mum was in school, wondering if we'd ever eat well again.

After being diagnosed with debilitating peripheral neuropathy, Michael voluntarily surrendered his pilot’s license and gave up flying, though he maintained his instructor's license up until last year. To keep active in his love of aviation, he got back into flying RC planes and helicopters as well as learning to design and 3D print his own plans and modifications.

He developed such a passion for designing and 3D printing things around the house, office and car, that he would continually ask each of us if he could make anything for us! Susanne became his proxy for printing and improving his designs as he got older.

Despite Michael's health problems the last few years from heart failure, peripheral neuropathy, and the residual pain from failed back surgery, he always tried to stay active and never lost his sharp mind, his excellent humor, or good spirits.

He will be missed by us all. I encourage anyone who knew him to share any warm memories or funny stories of Michael here. RIP Fa, We love you.

Michael's Life Celebration will begin with a Rosary to be recited on Wednesday, January 28, 2026, 12:30pm at San Martin de Porres Catholic Church located at 8301 Camino San Martin SW, 87121. Mass will begin at 1:00pm. Michael will be laid to rest following the Mass at Mount Calvary Cemetery located at 1900 Edith Blvd NE, 87102.