Editor’s Note: This obituary was submitted to East Village Magazine by friends and loved ones of Michael Rawley. It has been lightly edited for clarity and East Village Magazine’s style guidelines.

Artist, musician, poet, performer, and Renaissance man Michael Rawley died peacefully at his home in Swartz Creek, Michigan on July 2, 2025. Born on December 23, 1941 in Kingston, Jamaica, he was 83 years old.

Rawley occupied his last few weeks of life with a representative display of his oil paintings at the Greater Flint Arts Council gallery in downtown Flint. It was his last exhibit, and his friends said that he had “put his heart and soul into it.”

Examples of the late artist’s work can still be seen on his Instagram profile, which showcases his talents in portraiture, abstract, and fantasy artworks. His loved ones called his art “inspiring and visually stunning,” and highlighted a performance in 2009 in which he created a painting inspired by live jazz music at the Flint Institute of Music (FIM). That painting, titled “Painted Music,” is now on permanent display at the FIM.

Rawley also published a book of poetry titled “Book” in 1982. It was a collaboration with friend and illustrator Gerry Papineau, and published by Rawley’s own “Please Press.”

But Rawley was much more than the sum of his arts, his friends continued. “He was a private person and lived a simple and modest life. At the same time he was well-known throughout the community and respected for his talent and intellect.”

As an activist, they wrote, he was instrumental in forming a small food co-op in Holly, Michigan. And, as an ordained minister with a certificate from the Universal Life Church, he also performed weddings. 

Rawley’s loved ones reflected that “with his keen sense of curiosity,” Rawley studied the sciences, religious traditions, visual arts and music.

“His calm presence and clarity would draw you into deep conversations on various topics. His counsel was sincere, kind and helpful,” they said. “His vision was profound and he had a deep love of life. Though he’s no longer physically present, his art and talent lives on and reminds us of a remarkable man.” 

Rawley was predeceased by his mother Georgia Herrlich, a founding member of the Unitarian Universalist Church of Flint, and stepfather Jack Herrlich. Together they owned and operated Herrlich’s Drugstores in Flint.

Rawley is survived by his sister Gael, daughters Natasha, Nova, Maria, granddaughter Nadia, and two grandsons Ty and Bentley.

There will be a celebration of Michael’s life at 1 p.m. on Sunday, August 10 at the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Flint, located at 2474 S. Ballenger Highway in Flint, Michigan.

Rawley’s friends asked that the community consider making a donation in memory of him to organizations supporting the arts, such as the Flint Institute of Music.