Michael William Jump

Michael "Mike" William Jump, 67, of Indianapolis, Indiana, passed away on Wednesday, December 26, 2018 due to complications from heart surgery.

Michael was born on August 1, 1951 in Indianapolis, IN. He was the eldest of five children born to William Samuel Jump and Mary Elizabeth LEntz.  Both preceded him in death. 

Micheal, along with his brother Gary Jump, Vicky Jump Stygilmyer, and Tom Jump stayed in Indianapolis till 1963. When the family moved to Dallas, TX the family grew, and Amy (Linton) Jump was born in 1965.  The family moved back to Indiana in 1967, where Mike attended Ben Davis High School and graduated in 1969. During his time at Ben Davis he was the Program Director of the Schools Radio Station WBDG .909. This is where Mike discovered his love for radio. 

In 1969 Mike started at Indiana University in Bloomington, IN. He got his Bachelor of Arts Degree with a Major in Telecommunication. While attending IU he worked at W.I.F.E/W.I.U.S. and W.F.Y.U. radio stations.  He held various positions from announcer, engineer, to general manager.  Mike met his wife Debbie Cahall during the summer of his sophomore year at IU.  They were married August 5, 1972. After the wedding Mikemoved back to Indy and started attending college part time and started working at Linkrelt Manufacturing Company as a Quality Control Technician.  Debbie got pregnant in 1976 and gave birth to a daughter on June 20, 1976, her name is Andrea Jump. 

Mike and Debbie were divorced in 1979. After the divorce, Mike finished his education and graduated from IU in 1982.

During this time Mike started attending Westside Church of the Nazarene, where he made many life long friends and also taught Sunday School.  He helped organize single retreats. He also started working on getting his teaching license, which he received in December of 1984. In 1986 Mike quit his job at the Link Belt and got his first teaching job in Zuni, New Mexico. Mike taught in Zuni from 1986-1997. He taught mainly Language Arts and Communications. He was very active in the community and made many life long friends. He always put his students needs first and was always available to help them out no matter what they needed.  He left Zuni and moved to Portates, New Mexico in 1997 to take a position at Eastern New Mexico University, where he was the Direct of Native American Affairs. While working at Eastern, he also attended classes and received his Master's Degree in Educational Administration. Mike left Eastern in 2002 when he took a Vice Principal position with Hooper Bay School in Alaska. He stayed one year and went back to Eastern, where he was Adjunct Professor of Cultural Anthropology.  Mike stayed at Eastern until 2006 when he took a school counseling position in Lincoln Mt, Montana.  He moved to Dulce, NM to be a school counselor.  He stayed in Dulce for 2 years and in 2009 he moved back to Hooper Bay, Alaska, where he held a few positions over the years from Principal to Vice Principal and School Counselor.  He retired from Hooper Bay in early 2017. 

Michael loved garage sale-ing in his spare time and loved working on his collections.  He loved old radios and records, stamps, books, and license plates.  He always had fun at flea markets. his other favorite past time was traveling. He went to Europe multiple times and loved looking for old ghost towns in New Meixco and Arizona. Mike also loved genealogy and is the foremost historian of the Jump and Lentz Family. But Mike's biggest gift was love.  He was a great father and a great friend to many. He would always help a friend, even if it meant he himself went without. He truly would give the shirt off his back. He will be severely missed by all that had the privilege to know him. 

Mike is survived by his daughter Andrea; step-son (GoGO Dilan) and his brothers; Gary and Tom Jump; his sisters Vickie and Amy; and his nieces and nephews Scott, Trisha, Matt, Casey, Megan, Samantha, and Jenny. 

A memorial service celebrating the life of Michael will be held on Saturday, January 12, 2019 at 2:00 PM at Fountain Square Cremation & Funeral Services.  Family and friends are invited to visit from 11:00 AM until the hour of the service.

To send flowers to the family or plant a tree in memory of Michael William Jump, please visit our floral store.