Michael Kent Pilgrim passed away on Friday, September 26th in Norfolk, Virginia at the age of 77. Mike believed he was fortunate to have lived a very good life having enjoyed the love of family, several exceptional women, many wonderful friends and a number of faithful dogs. The youngest child of Ollaster and Anna Pilgrim, he grew up in York County, Virginia. Mike thought himself blessed to have parents who cared and sacrificed for him, and siblings who, though often far apart, were always there for him.
Graduating from the College of William and Mary in 1972, Mike began a lifelong career working in the fields of security and intelligence. For more than thirty-five years, Mike worked on security projects for federal agencies, including the National Park Service, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the Department of Defense, local municipalities and a number of foreign governments. From Washington, D.C. to Kuala Lampur, there were few major airports he was not intimately familiar with having been directly involved with their security.
Considered an expert in his chosen field, Mike served on several national standards organizations and committees for aviation security and border protection. He was a member of the Association of Former Intelligence Officers, the American Society for Industrial Security and the American Association of Airport Executives. Mike wrote hundreds of reports and studies, some classified, was often an expert witness during litigations and was portrayed or listed as a source in more than a dozen books. While his work made him an author, landed him an audience with King of Jordan, and helped secure the Washington Monument, Mike was particularly proud of his work in Afghanistan with the Afghani Presidential Protection Academy under the U.S. State Department. As proud as he was of his work in Afghanistan, Mike was equally proud to have marched against other wars during his lifetime.
Over the course of his life, Mike lived in ten states, as well as the District of Columbia, eleven countries and visited more than sixty-seven others. If you pressed him on which countries beyond the sixty-seven he had been to, eventually he would say “I was never there. You never saw me,” with a wry smile. Mike’s love of travel led him to climb the pyramids of Egypt, Mexico, Guatemala and Costa Rica, walk the streets of Petra, wander through Machu Picchu, drive Australia’s Gold Coast, see Komodo Dragons in the Komodo National Park, dive in the Galapagos Islands and watch the Northern Lights.
An accomplished diver whose love of travel and sharks took him around the world to dive, Mike logged over five hundred dives from Hawaii to the Caribbean and from Greece to Fiji. He firmly believed Palau, Yap and the Dutch Saba islands were his favorites. Mike had a soft spot for the Pacific Ocean and, in accordance with his wishes, his remains will be scattered there.
Mike is survived by his three nieces and two nephews, who will miss the conversations had over a good meal.
9 Comments
We lived together for many years and I will miss him forever.
Your Uncle Mike was a classmate of mine in the class of ‘67 York High School, and we re-connected recently on the eastern shore for some great conversation and seafood. Mike was a wonderful friend to have – so knowledgeable yet so personable and down to earth. I’ll treasure my memories of him, both from the times we were coming of age together, and the recent times spent over wine and crab. What a fabulous man!
I’m so sorry for the loss of your dear loved one. May you find comfort and peace in God’s wonderful promise to swallow up death forever and wipe the tears from all faces. – Isaiah 25;8 Condolences
I was fortunate to have worked with him at the Washington Airports Authority. We had great conversations talking around our experiences in foreign countries. The wide range of top Federal authorities he knew (and had “miffed”) was impressive. I will miss his Facebook posts. A large part of history goes with him, a true loss of knowledge. Farewell my friend.
A majority of the country’s and dives Mike mentioned I was blessed to have shared with him. He was a very good friend and travel partner. His passion and education for the oceans was remarkable. On a majority of our dives he knew more than the crew. I was always amazed on his knowledge and ability to enlighten the audience.
As a high school classmate of Mike’s at York High in Yorktown VA, I always found Mike to be a very smart fellow though typically quiet and humble. I’m sorry we didn’t form a longtime friendship, as I would’ve enjoyed sharing stories about world travel, remote and special places and scuba diving, which was a love of mine as well. He obviously put his intelligence to excellent use by his long service to our nation on behalf of its security and intelligence apparatus. Bravo Mike, rest in peace.
May you rest in peace Mike and patiently await the arrival of all your friends from around the world, and especially your fellow classmates from YHS with whom you warmly shared your presence and friendship. We all can be assured you will warmly greet all of us upon our arrival with a welcomed seat at the table with our gracious and lovingly Heavenly Host.
Oh my! Noah and I have had many conversations about our lives growing up with Mike. I knew him through high school but Noah knew him much longer than that. In the last few years I’ve enjoyed his fb comments. I think we bonded at YHS because we were both short and could commiserate over the plight of our limitations! However that never stopped him in all kinds of competitive events. He always had your back. Noah and I both feel his loss greatly. Our most sincere condolences to all who have called him friend or family.
Mike was a very funny guy who never missed an opportunity to enjoy the moment with spontaneous humor. I am remembering the time when we were pondering how we could get a photo of the “Gang” in the yearbook. You see we senior guys were a particularly large group of young men who had great friendships despite our diverse backgrounds. Time was of the essence a