East Haven resident Michael Enders has never served in the United States military and yet his tireless support of all things uniquely American makes some think of him as a “soldier” nonetheless. In fact, he’s one of the most patriotic persons you’re ever likely to meet—and yet he is generally a quiet man.
Mike has read the U.S. Constitution dozens of times (he always keeps a small, pocket-sized version of the document at hand), his home is festooned with bunting, an American flag waves proudly atop an exceedingly tall flag pole, and he readily dons his American flag-print polo shirt. Displays of patriotism aside, Mike recently retired from the Social Security Administration (SSA) after 38 years of service.
Born and raised in rural northern Indiana, Mike earned his B.A. in psychology before trekking off to Chicago to begin work as a claims authorizer with the SSA.
“Then I moved into an attorney advisor position in 1978 after I completed a juris doctor law degree from Chicago-Kent College,” he says.
After marriage, Mike moved back to Fort Wayne, Indiana, and had a son, Robert, in 1979 and a daughter, Rebecca, in 1982.
“I then came to Connecticut
after my first marriage went bad,” he admits. “In 1995, the SSA became an
independent agency and I filled out applications for
offices all over the country. I almost ended up in Wichita, Kansas, but I
ended up in Connecticut. That was April of 1995 and I met Sandy [his second
wife] in 1997, the same month my divorce became final.”
Sandy had no children of her own at the time and she admits to feeling too old to have a child safely, so the couple decided to adopt a seven-month-old Guatemalan boy.
Adopting a foreign child meant they could get a baby far more easily than through a domestic adoption and they also wanted to pull a child out of assured future poverty and give him a chance at the life they knew only America could offer him.
There was one additional consideration.
“Foreign adoption is easier since domestic adoption is more open [meaning that the natural mother and adopted family know who each other are] and we didn’t want an open adoption,” Mike says.
Fitting with Mike’s love of both American and British leaders, he named his new son Adam Jefferson Enders in honor of Adam Smith (the Scottish moral philosopher considered to be the father of modern economics) and President Thomas Jefferson.
Besides enjoying fatherhood once again, Mike decided to start a second career, this time related to his love of the America his son Adam could now claim as his country, too.
“I’ve been instructing online political science courses at Housatonic and Middlesex Community colleges over the past year,” he says, and he’ll be starting the same for Central Texas College in January.
“I also just completed a second bachelor’s degree from American Sentinel University in computer programming and I’ve started a master’s in comparative government at American Public University,” he notes.
Although Mike admits to being shy when it comes to volunteerism, he consistently makes his quiet contribution to helping others. At his next visit to the Red Cross blood drive he’ll reach the 12-gallon blood donation mark and he’s been on the bone marrow donor list for decades, although he has yet to be called to donate.
“I also bicycle every summer for either the American Diabetes Association or the National Multiple Sclerosis Society,” he says, adding, “but I’m too shy to solicit for pledges so I just end up donating what I’m supposed to raise out of my own money.”
To nominate a Person of the Week contact Jason Marchi at j.marchi@shorepublishing.com or 203-245-1877 x6166.