MICHAEL THOMAS SPOSITO January 12, 1957 - July 11, 2014 Suddenly, on July 11, 2014, Michael passed away in the town of Palestrina, Italy, at the age of 57. Mike leaves to mourn his loving partner of 22 years, Stephania Rocchi, originally from Rome, Italy; his two brothers: Anthony (Landis) and Robert (Florence); and niece and nephews: Rayna, Damon, Chris, and Eric. Michael lived an extraordinary life. He was born in Winnipeg, Manitoba, graduating from West Kildonan Collegiate. While at "WesKay", he starred on the basketball team and was selected for the City's all-star team. He was also an accomplished golfer. After graduating, Mike studied journalism and quickly found employment at a Kenora radio station then as Sports Director for CKX in Brandon, Manitoba. He soon moved into the news department and was shortly appointed the news director. Longing for action on a larger scale Mike decided to leave Canada for London, England in January 1984, where he was employed by Visnews, a London-based international news agency. He rose quickly to become the Bureau Chief for South Africa, quite an accomplishment at 28 years of age. This was the beginning of Mike's exposure to international wars and the extreme hardships that are inflicted. During the four years he spent as Bureau Chief of South Africa, Mike provided coverage of the worst times of Apartheid. He travelled throughout other parts of Africa to cover the fighting in Angola and social unrest in other countries and in the process, made the Visnews bureau very successful. After South Africa, Mike spent three years in Israel as Bureau Chief where he covered the Intifada and once again, built the bureau into a going concern. In Israel he used an innovative approach by hiring Palestinians into the bureau which allowed him access to the hotspots inside Gaza. This unique coverage provided exclusive reports that began to make him and his company famous in news circles. Reuters News Agency bought Visnews and Mike continued, as Bureau Chief, to provide coverage of events in the Middle East and Europe. He reported news from the front line in: Afghanistan during the war with Russia, the first Gulf War, the wars in Kosovo and Bosnia, and events in Kurdistan. While in Kurdistan, Mike was approached by the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) to shoot a documentary. The result was a piece called "Christmas in Kurdistan" which he wrote, filmed, and produced. Mike eventually landed in Rome as Bureau Chief for Reuters and continued to cover the never-ending conflict in the Balkans. But after years of witnessing human tragedy and atrocities, he became disenchanted with popular news coverage and began writing as he felt he had something to say. He continued to freelance for Reuters and Associated Press (AP) in Kosovo and Macedonia. Once again, Mike achieved quick success in writing with the publishing of a story about the death of his close friend and another war correspondent, Miguel Gil, called "What Else Could I Tell Him". The story won a BBC radio award and was published in the Italian magazine Global. Throughout his life, Mike was popular and outgoing. He was loved by all those who knew him and his sense of humour, intellect, and ever-present beaming smile will be sorely missed by all. Michael possessed a relentless intellectual curiosity and pursued knowledge throughout his life amassing a library of thousands of books. He loved history and archeology and in particular, the history of Rome. Mike and Stefania, enjoyed many years exploring Rome and other parts of Italy. He continued to write short stories, screenplays, and novels until his passing. Many of his works are in the process of being published. Cremation has taken place and his ashes have been laid to rest, fittingly, in Palestrina, a town that dates back to the 8th century BC.