"So with you: Now is your time of grief, but I will see you again and you will rejoice, and no one will take away your joy". John 16:22

Our beloved Michael Ray Pettigrew, Sr., affectionately known as "Mike," was born on March 21, 1956 to the late Anna Green and Cephus Napoleon Pettigrew in Winston-Salem, NC. He departed this life unexpectedly on Monday, January 6, 2025 at Novant Health Forsyth Medical Center.

Mike attended Winston-Salem Forsyth County Schools and graduated from East Forsyth High School, class of '74, where he also played football for all four years. He furthered his education at Forsyth Technical Community College for two years. Mike also served as assistant coach for the Tiny Indians and Carver High School teams.

Michael was employed with Western Electric while living in Orlando, Florida. He later returned to Winston-Salem, NC and gained full employment with Johnson Controls Battery Division, from which he eventually retired.

He was an active member of First Baptist Church-Highland Avenue, serving as an active usher, past trustee and sexton. He was a former member of Galilee Missionary Baptist Church. Michael was an active member of Bivouac Lodge No. 503, Shriners and the Phalanx Fraternity. In his leisure time, Mike was a die-hard Cowboys fan and always teased by his friends and family when the Cowboys lost a game.

In addition to his parents, he was preceded in death by his brothers, Cephus Jr. and Christopher; sisters, Colzette and Angela; and his in-laws, Robert Caldwell and Florence Payne-Caldwell.

Mike is survived by his devoted wife, Janice of the home; sons, Michael Jr. and Johnathan both of Winston-Salem, NC; his only surviving sister, Camilla Pettigrew Payne (Alvin) of Winston-Salem; two uncles, Kenneth Pettigrew, Sr. of Winston-Salem and Malachi Caldwell of Rimini, SC; four aunts: Ellen Pettigrew-Mitchell of Winston-Salem, NC, Polly Caldwell of Kernersville, NC, Sarah Caldwell-Hairston of Yeadon, PA and Beatrice McKnight of Columbia, SC; eleven grandchildren: Samara Smith, Mnemosyne Pettigrew, Syai Pettigrew, Mycah Pettigrew, Acastas Pettigrew, Amaury Dobson, Janiyah Nappier, DeJarah Pettigrew, Jayda Ferguson, Laila Ferguson and Ana'Layah Pettigrew; four great-grandchildren: Za'yaan Smith, Zia Smith, Zarina Hawk and Calliope Pettigrew-Pitts; devoted niece and caretaker, Michelle R. Caldwell; a host of nieces and nephews; brother-in-law, Robert Caldwell, Jr. (Constance); three sisters-in-law: Gloria Caldwell, Joyce Brown (Benjamin) and Virginia C. Hairston all of Winston-Salem; and a host of cousins and many, many friends, too numerous to name.

His life will be celebrated at 1:00 PM on Friday, January 17, 2025, at First Baptist Church, with visitation from 12:00 PM until the hour of celebration. Interment will follow in the serenity of Oaklawn Memorial Gardens. A public viewing will be held on Thursday, January 16, 2025, from 1:00 PM to 5:30 PM at the funeral home, with fraternal rites being rendered privately.

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