Michael Carney

Michael Sean Carney, 66, of Hebron, Nebraska, formerly of Davenport, passed away peacefully at Blue Valley Care Home in Hebron on Sunday, February 24, 2019. Michael  was born on October 2, 1952, in Davenport, the son and fourth child of Roscoe Patrick and Loyola “Loy” Stegmaier Carney.

Survivors include his siblings: Pat (Carmen) Carney, Glendale, Arizona; Sharon Hude, Iowa City; Kerry (Diane) Carney, Steamboat Springs, Colorado; Moira Carney, Phoenix, Arizona; and Brian (Brenda) Carney, Denver, Colorado; and many nieces, nephews, grandnieces, grandnephews and cousins. Mike was preceded in death by his parents, and a niece, Nina Carney.  May they rest in peace.

Funeral services to celebrate Mike’s life will begin with a Mass of Christian Burial at 1:00PM Friday, March 8, 2019, at St. Paul the Apostle Catholic Church, 916 E. Rusholme Street, Davenport.  Visitation will take place from noon to 1:00 PM  in the gathering space at church.

Mike attended Grant and Taylor Schools in Davenport, then transitioned to Glenwood Hospital School in Glenwood, Iowa. Mike lived for many years in Glenwood, Iowa, in a group home provided by Glenwood Family Support Services.  He later transitioned to placements in Red Oak and Shenandoah, Iowa, before moving to the Blue Valley Care Home in Hebron, Nebraska.

Mike enjoyed playing drums, bicycling, and reciting major league baseball facts. He delighted in collecting baseball cards and as a result, developed an encyclopedic knowledge of player statistics.  While living in Glenwood, he traveled with others in his group home to participate in Special Olympic baseball competitions. Later Mike enjoyed several trips flying “the Friendly Skies” to Phoenix to visit family and take in several Cactus League spring training games featuring the San Francisco Giants at the Scottsdale Stadium.

As a child, Mike developed a reputation for becoming an extremely clever escape artist, beginning as a toddler who defied parental attempts to keep him safely in bed at night.  Even with netting securely fastened over the top of his crib, he discovered away to wriggle free by lifting up the mattress and springs. Occasionally while working in the plant nursery at the Glenwood State Hospital School, he would curl up or lie down to relax between the aisles and fall asleep.

Growing up on Iowa Street, Mike reveled in long bike rides on the family’s red Schwinn tandem. When he lived for a few months in Iowa City with Pat and Carmita, he spent hours bicycling with his four year old niece Nina as together they practiced and developed her confidence and ability to ride, arms outstretched, circus-tightrope-style, on the bike’s horizontal crossbar, riding up and down in front of the house on Johnson Street. Mike will be missed and remembered by his family.