Michael "Mike" Jerry Tupa

BIOGRAPHICAL FACTS —

— Born in 1956 in Southern California to a part-member family, mom was a fifth-generation member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, dad was a Roman Catholic.

— Lived in Ogden, Utah and Kearns, Utah during his teenage years.

— Served a mission in Northern Italy. Mission was interrupted by two major knee surgeries, one in Torino, Italy, the other in Salt Lake City. Called at age 21 or 22 to be one of the seven presidents of the Seventies in his stake in Ogden.

— Earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Weber State.

— At age 25-and-a-half enlisted for active duty in the U.S. Marine Corps. Served four years and earned an Honorable Discharge. During his tour was assigned for a year-and-a-half in Kaneohe, Hawaii, and more than six months in Iwakuni, Japan.

— The Lord blessed him at age 31-and-a-half to be hired as a full-time reporter for the Ely (Nev.) Daily Times, where he worked for 30 months. His other newspaper stops included working as a sports writer-editor at a weekly near Riverside, Calif. (1990-91), a daily in Oroville, Calif. (1991-1996) and a daily in Bartlesville, Okla. (1996-2023).

— He continued to cover local sports on a website in the Bartlesville area as a non-paying community service because he wanted to provide the local kids and other athletes high-quality recognition.

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OTHER NOTES —

— Delivered a daily newspaper for two-and-a-half years to one of the grandmothers of the Osmond Brothers singing group.

— Interviewed NFL owner Bud Adams (Houston Oilers, Tennessee Titans) in the back of a limousine.

— Obtained photo passes to shoot NFL, NBA, Major League Baseball and major college games.

— In 1990, shook Ronald Reagan’s hand.

— Direct ancestor Jacob Allred served as Joseph Smith’s personal bodyguard in Nauvoo and rescued John Taylor from Carthage the night of the martyrdom before members of the mob realized John Taylor had survived the shooting.

— Inducted into the Bartlesville Athletic Hall of Fame and presented with an unanimous proclamation of honor from the Oklahoma Legislature.

— Won numerous first-place annual awards from the Oklahoma Press Association for sports writing, photography and coverage.

— Became an excellent distance runner in his latter 20s and early 30s, averaging 5:35 per mile in one 5K race.

— Had more than 40 poems published in independent publications.

— Self-published four hard copy volumes of poems and short stories and published on-line a full-length murder mystery and other books.

— Befriended an ex-pro wrestling legend named Rey Urbano and fed Rey’s dog and goldfish when he left town for sports conventions.

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SOME FAVORITE SCRIPTURES

Helaman 5:12, Matthew 25: 35-46, Isaiah 55: 8-11, I Corinthians 13, John 16: 32-33, Isaiah 40:

28-31, 2 Nephi: 24-28, D&C 58: 26-28.

Michael “Mike” Jerry Tupa, 69, of Bartlesville, Oklahoma, passed away on April 7, 2026, in Bartlesville. Prior to the funeral service, there will be a viewing, beginning at 2:00 PM followed by the funeral service starting at 3:00 PM on Thursday, April 16, 2026, at 3:00 PM at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints on Swan Drive in Bartlesville with Bishop Ryan Vaclaw officiating. Arrangements are under the direction of Arnold Moore & Neekamp Funeral Home and Cremation Services of downtown Bartlesville. To leave an online condolence for Mike, visit www.honoringmemoriesbartlesville.com.