Gene Michael Deary grew up in a full house. One might think 13 children were enough, but his family welcomed strays.
“There was always a wanderer living at our house,” he says. His mother made people feel welcome, and she taught her children to be compassionate. “My mom made it clear that giving was expected. You helped everyone you could.”
The treasurer of The Arc Eastern Connecticut’s Board of Directors thinks his idea to support people with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities started with a man named Arthur. Arthur walked to his job at the ice cream plant in Putnam every day. When he got older, Gene Michael worked there, too. “Arthur was always in the neighborhood,” he says.
After selling gymnastics equipment in college and running his own business financing auto loans, Gene Michael ended up as a senior vice president at Berkshire Bank. Getting invited to join The Arc Quinebaug Valley’s board felt like an honor. After Quinebaug and The Arc New London County merged to form The Arc Eastern Connecticut, he continued serving.
“I was really complimented by the folks who wanted me to be on this board,” he said. “I think people realized that I have the best interests of The Arc in mind. That’s the cool part of it. You’re not doing it for yourself.”
Gene Michael lives in Danielson with his wife Elizabeth. He’s the father of four: Gene Michael, 28; Taylor James, 26; and twins Nicolette Paige and Jacqueline Therese, 22.
By his own admission, he can’t sit still. Gene Michael has coached gymnastics since college and his participation goes back even further. Handstands are his favorite. “I endeavor to do a handstand every day for the rest of my life,” he said. “It’s a measure of where I am physically.”
While most people can hold a handstand for just three seconds, Gene Michael does it for 45. He laughs saying the singularity doesn’t translate: “I was definitely a one-trick pony in gymnastics!”
Gene Michael met Elizabeth after she volunteered with his family’s charity road race, and he never looked back. Was it love at first sight? “Yeah,” he says. “It really was.”
Kathleen Stauffer is chief executive officer of The Arc Eastern Connecticut. For information on The Arc, go to www.TheArcECT.org. For more articles by this author visit www.kathleenstauffer.com
