Michael J. Sobczak - Obituary

ichael John Sobczak was suddenly and unexpectedly taken from us in his sleep on December 18, 2024. Born and raised in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Michael moved his family to sunny southern California in 1991 and stayed there until moving to Maryland in 2022 to be closer to his children and to spoil his grandchildren. Michael is survived by his wife of 42 years, Trudi, his three children, Bradley Sobczak (Karina), Gregory Sobczak (Lauren), and Nora Aloise (Neil), his four precious grandchildren, Camille(4), Nicholas(4), Bennett(2) and Christopher (9 mos), and his sisters Mary Dutkiewicz and Margaret Sobczak. Michael was granted a Bachelor of Science in Management Information Systems and a Master of Science in Economics from the University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee. He spent over forty years in the mortgage and banking industry, with his final position as Senior Vice President and Director of Quality Control for PennyMac. His career began at Marine Bank in Milwaukee, then Mortgage Guarantee Insurance Corporation (for two stints), Johnson Controls, Great Western Bank, and Fannie Mae for 15 years. He was known and appreciated for his managerial leadership and employee development. Many of his past employees remained in touch to ask for professional guidance years after leaving his direct report. The true love of his life was his family. He took such pride in his children and got such joy from seeing them develop into the wonderful people they have become. Many of his happiest times were watching the kids play sports and attending school graduations. He always felt the need to coach from the sidelines and was even lucky enough to coach Bradley’s and Gregory’s little league teams. He was always willing to help with scorekeeping and drag the fields. He also never missed a single Cal Poly softball game of Nora’s over four years. He was a kind, smart and responsible man, who put his family first in everything he did. He got more joy out of giving than receiving. He was a self-made financial advisor for the family by educating and establishing a sound financial base to pass on to the kids. His hobby was being Mr. Fix-It for four families, including his sisters. He could bring anything back to life and make it last. He loved being the family fantasy football league commissioner (although his bias to draft Green Bay Packers players did not do him any favors) and he found great joy in calculating all of the numbers for the family March Madness pool by hand. Thank you, Michael, Dad, and Papa for being a wonderful and loving husband, a caring and devoted father and grandfather, and for being by our sides every step of the way. You made our lives rich and full. We miss you dearly. We love you. Information on Michael’s Celebration of Life will be forthcoming. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to St. Thomas More High School, Milwaukee WI in his name. Thank you