Michael John Saddleton

1943-2021. "If a thing is worth doing, it's worth doing well." Words to live by - and Michael did. He lived his life abundantly and did everything with his whole heart. Michael John Saddleton was born in Bournemouth, England on June 21, 1943, to John and Margaret Saddleton. After World War II ended, his father joined the British Colonial Service, and the family moved to the Colony of Aden (now part of Yemen) on the Arabian Sea. At the age of 7, Michael returned to England to be educated at Taunton School in Somerset, where he was a good student and a competitive swimmer, and where he made lifelong friends. He had great memories of his early childhood in Aden, and of horseback riding and sailing on long holidays with his parents. 

After leaving school, Michael trained in electronics and communications before working for several years in Zanzibar/Tanzania and The Seychelles. He loved the ocean and took up SCUBA diving , spearfishing and underwater photography. One of his greatest experiences was the long safari he took with friends before leaving East Africa to return to England.

In 1968, Michael emigrated to Canada, to attend the University of Saskatchewan, where he met his wife, Lynn. He also learned to fly and got his pilot's license during this time. He graduated from the College of Medicine in 1974 and subsequently was recruited to Ohio as a teaching clinician at Akron City Hospital in the nascent specialty of Emergency Medicine. He was one of the first physicians in the country to sit the Board exams and qualify as a Fellow of the American College of Emergency Physicians. He served as President of the Ohio chapter of ACEP in 1983-84. He was also active for many years as an examiner for the American Board of Emergency Physicians. In later years, he worked in the fields of occupational and correctional medicine.

Outside of work, Michael always was busy with his family and all the activity of raising his two boys.  He loved running and cycling, woodworking and yardwork, and was an avid reader. Mostly, he loved motorsports: the only sport he ever watched on TV was racing motorcycles and cars of all types, but always and especially Formula 1. He spent many happy hours messing about with cars or just talking about them with friends he made at Mid Ohio or Nelson Ledges race tracks, where he drove his own car.

In recent years, Michael and Lynn enjoyed spending winters on the Pacific coast of Mexico, revisiting the sun and surf pleasures of his youth. He loved to hike in the jungle and cycle in the hills, and he found a new passion in ocean paddleboarding at the age of 70. Michael was preceded in death by his parents and an infant brother, Nicholas Christopher John; and his parents-in-law, Edgar and Doreen Wood.

He is survived by his loving wife of 47 years, Lynn; his sons, Nicholas (Sarah) and Simon (Elise); and grandchildren Julian, Arlo, Eva and Zinnia; also, many members of his extended Wood family.

The family will receive friends 2 P.M. SATURDAY December 18 at the Billow FAIRLAWN Chapel, 85 N. Miller Road, Fairlawn, OH 44333. Memorial service 2:30 P.M with Rev. Richard McCandless officiating. Masks are required. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the Summit Metro Parks Foundation, 975 Treaty Line Rd., Akron, OH 44313 or at www.foundation.summitmetroparks.org. 

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