Michael (Mike) Andrew

Rhaesa

Michael (Mike) Andrew Rhaesa passed on November 2, 2026 (b.1952), after a short fight with cancer. Words cannot express the life he so exuberantly and joyously lived and shared with those around him. He was a naturalist by heart, a stone mason by trade, and biologist by education. After leaving his successful residential stone business in Kansas City, Flint Hills Masonry (1991-2007), he made his way into academia and completed his MS in Biology at SIUE, in 2012. He began his quest to save rural Illinois wetlands, one wetland at a time. He built several wetlands in Elsah, Illinois. And in conjunction with Principia College’s biology department, several more in near by habitat. He completed a couple of larger mitigation wetlands in and around Jersey and Madison County, together with Great Rivers Land Trust, in the Piasa Creek watershed.

 Throughout his retirement, he kept his naturalist enthusiasm alive and productive as he honed the official Wetland Trail in historic Elsah, (2007-2026). Most importantly, he spent 36 years with his dear partner, beloved wife and artist, Danne Pike Rhaesa. She continues to thrive in their stone home he built in Elsah, Illinois. He is survived by a sister, Linda D. Rhaesa and nephew, Jason Frasier, both residing in Johnson County, Kansas, where Mike and Danne spent most of their adult lives before coming to Elsah in 2007. One of his favorite activities was hiking to find abundant wildlife that frequent the water’s edge, near the Mississippi River. Please send any donations to the charity of your choice. That is what Mike would have wanted. His service will be private.

The family is being served by Gent Funeral Home, 2409 State Street, Alton, Illinois 62002