Mike Flaherty reunited with his wife Peg, and left his Poughkeepsie home for the final time on October 11th just after noon. 

He took his last breath under the roof where he raised his six children and enjoyed countless beautifully ordinary moments with Peg. In their final months together, he remained never further than inches from her side. To Mike, home was not their house on Wildwood Drive, it was wherever she was.

Born in Philadelphia, Mike served his country for two years in the U.S. Army. After his service he attended Villanova University. Soon after graduation he met Peg. Their love story endured for more than six decades. 

He became a high school math teacher before a career with IBM that led him to Poughkeepsie. In the early 1990s, he spent a year at Fisk University in Nashville that reinvigorated his love of education. He soon retired from IBM and returned to the classroom, where he dedicated the next two decades to teaching at various local colleges: his true passion. 

Before he passed on Saturday, the closest Mike got to heaven was in North River, NY. He often spent months out of the year enjoying the simple cabin he built on his own. There, views of the majestic Adirondack Mountains inspired his humble life. 

While he celebrated all holidays with excitement, even as he grew old, Christmas was the time of the year Mike enjoyed most. His decorations brought out the childlike spirit in all who visited his home, where he and Peg welcomed crowds of people on Christmas Eve. A replanted Christmas tree - glowing with strings of bulbs - soared dozens of feet high in their front yard.  It was a symbol of Mike’s light that shined in quiet ways throughout the community. 

Mike often said he was most grateful for his grandchildren. He and Peg were blessed with ten, who now carry their grandparents’ legacy of kindness, humility and love forward. 

Mike is survived by his six children: Christopher Flaherty and his wife, Jen, Beth Levesque and her husband, Ray, Kathy Flaherty, Jackie Flaherty-Petty and her husband, Michael Petty, David Flaherty and his wife, Mary, and Greg Flaherty and his wife, Rachelle Louis; and ten grandchildren: Michaela Flaherty, Liam Flaherty, Silvya Levesque, Sean Martinelli, Mackenzie Martinelli, David Martinelli, Timothy Petty, Matthew Petty, Margaret Petty and Ian Flaherty.

Family will receive their friends on Monday, October 20, 2025 from 4 to 8 p.m. at Straub, Catalano & Halvey Funeral Home, 55 E. Main Street, Wappingers Falls, NY 12590.

A Mass of Christian Burial will be offered on Tuesday, October 21, 2025 at 9:30 a.m. at St. Martin de Porres Church, 118 Cedar Valley Road in Poughkeepsie, with military honors.