Mike McCance 1947-77

(We have learned, sadly, that two members of A6903 — Mike McCance and Bill Peeters — have died. Don Cockrill has spoken with their widows and I have exchanged emails with them. Susan McCance has provided some information and pictures. We’ll add to the information as they are able to provide it.)

Michael D. McCance was from Las Vegas, Nevada, and came to OCS after graduating from the University of Nevada.

Only eight years after leaving OCS, Mike was reported missing in June 1977 after his boat had been found submerged off San Francisco International Airport. A boating companion was also reported missing. The two were never found.

The Coast Guard said there was no explanation of why the two men were missing or why the boat should have sunk as there was no indication of damage to the 25-foot craft.

Susan McCance said Mike was adamant about safety on the water. Their boat carried at least nine life jackets, she said, none of which was found aboard. Mike’s efforts saving himself and his companion would have been complicated, she said, by the companion’s inability to swim. Susan and others, she said, suspect that a great white shark, which often frequent San Francisco Bay, may have taken their lives.

Memorial services for Mike, 30, who lived with Susan in Foster City, Calif., were held June 15, 1977.

Mike served on the USS Theodore E. Chandler (DD-717), Susan said. He was medically discharged, she said, following an accident in which he suffered a “shattered ankle.”

After the Navy, Mike graduated from Hastings College of Law, which is affiliated with the University of California, in San Francisco. Mike and Susan were married in October 1973 at the Carmel Mission in California and they honeymooned in Tahiti. In February 1976, Mike received a master of laws degree in taxation from New York University School of Law, and the couple returned to the Bay Area. Susan lives now in Pebble Beach, Calif.

Susan recalled they would often take the boat out on Sundays and “just float and read the paper. Never more than one drink. His discipline was above and beyond.” She also remembered him making a pledge. “When I met him, he said he would smoke his last cigarette the day he passed the Bar. Sure enough, that was his last cigarette.”

Personally, I remember Mike as a friendly, warm-hearted guy who could still come out with a witty, sarcastic turn-of-phrase. Hope you’ll share memories you may have as well.