Michael Loser

Mike, born on July 11th, 1951, to Bernadine (Albert) Loser and Clifford Loser at OSF St. Francis Hospital, passed away due to natural causes on September 8th, 2026, in the early morning. Preceded in death by his two great uncles Michael and Marcus, who were killed in the line of duty in WW2, both of which he was named after, his parents, Cliff and Bernadine (Albert) Loser, ex-wife, Cathleen (Gleason) Loser, brother, John Loser, sister-in-law, Annie Loser, and brother-in-law, Ben Joseph. Survived by daughter, Lea (Loser) Clark, son-in-law, Jamie Clark, grandchildren: James, Jenna, and Ava Clark, siblings: Joseph Loser, Theresa (Loser) Joseph, Catherine Loser, Cliff Loser (Janel), Mary (Loser) Sampier (Kevin), and several nieces, nephews, and cousins. Mike was an interesting man, living life to the beat of his own drum, he often made dry-humored jokes and was hard-headed. Mike was born in and lived most of his life in Peoria and Peoria Heights, Illinois, where he then went on to raise his daughter, Lea Clark, with his wife at the time, Kate (Gleason) Loser. As a family, they spent many occasions at the Loser family house for various birthdays, celebrations, and get-togethers. Lea remembers their trips to Chicago to watch Cubs games, visiting him at the OSF Security Office. He enjoyed daily trips to the grocery store to get lotto tickets for the day. He loved coffee and cigars. He had a great fondness for Peoria and its history, in his later years, looking out his window at downtown Peoria most days. His pride and joy were his daughter Lea, he never missed a JBL game in Peoria Heights on Saturday nights, followed by Penguin Pizza. He would visit Lea at the Book Emporium every weekend she worked, taking her to lunch at Maid Rite. He took pride in his Lebanese heritage, attending annual supers and shish kabobs at the Itoo Hall, and always asking for oil on the side of any meal. Mike spent a lot of his time with family in his late life; he was always surrounded by their loving care. Mike worked most of his career at OSF St. Francis in Peoria, IL, starting in the late 70’s, then returning in the 90s after a brief stint at Northwoods Mall where he worked in Maintenance. He worked on the security staff, eventually moving up to sergeant. Everyone at OSF knew and loved Mike for his antics of unseriousness at times. He loved it when the helicopters came, as he had a vast number of pictures of them in his collection. Although at times me might have messed around, he was reliable and a good employee. Later in his career, he kept working at OSF in a less demanding role, devoting his life to OSF, and finally retiring. "To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment." — Ralph Waldo Emerson Ezekiel 36:26 – "I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh." A celebration of life will be held on September 27, 2026 1:00-4:00p at the Itoo Hall in Peoria.

Michael Loser

July 11, 1951 - September 8, 2026