Michael Alan Tulou

On Sunday, August 29, 2021, Michael Alan Tulou passed away at home on Bainbridge. Michael was born in Ann Arbor, Michigan on February 10, 1942 to Mr. Alan Hayes Smith and Dr. Dorothy Leake Smith. Alan was a pilot with the U.S. Air Force and Dorothy was a medical student at Bellevue Hospital in New York City. Alan was killed in 1943 in North Africa when he was shot down by the Nazis. In 1946, Dorothy married Dr. Pierre Tulou and the three moved to the French Alps. Dorothy and Pierre had five children together in France over the next eight years, giving Mike the two younger brothers and three younger sister she cherished, as well as giving him his beloved dog, Volcan.

Mike graduated from high school in the United States at age 16, then studied at the University of Paris and the University of Virginia. He moved to Northern Virginia and joined a residential construction company. In 1964, he met a Belgian girl, Ghislaine Van der Veen, who was studying at Georgetown University, and who could flip between English and French as easily as he could. They were married in 1967. They moved to Toronto, Canada, for a year and then returned to Northern Virginia where he continued his work in residential construction for 42 years, building exquisite custom homes and earning a reputation for unparalleled craftsmanship. Upon retirement in 2009, they moved to Bainbridge Island.

Mike enjoyed working with his hands, whether renovating kitchens, building furniture, making silver jewelry, or creating gifts for loved ones. Throughout his life, he consistently loved to snow ski, to waterski and boat, to camp and to be around those he loved. He greatly enjoyed visiting family in the U.S. and Europe as well as finding new adventures. He particularly enjoyed his RV trips in our National Parks and the Canadian Rockies.

Mike had the rare gift of being a good judge of character while refusing to stand in judgment of other people’s life choices. He was a husband who kissed his wife every time he came home, and who signed off every phone call to his children with, “Love you.” He will be remembered for his ready smile, contagious laugh, and his heartily exclaimed, “Cheers!”, his favorite farewell. He is survived by his wife of 54 years, Ghislaine Tulou, as well as their three children and spouses, Patricia and Daniel Chambers, Tamara Tulou and David Cuthbert, Anthony and Aimee Tulou, his nine grandchildren, and numerous relatives in the U.S. and Europe, all of whom miss him grievously.

Arrangements are entrusted to the Cook Family Funeral Home of Bainbridge Island, WA.