Born into a family of anglers, Mike came into the world with a fishing rod in hand on Oct. 21, 1960, in Portsmouth, VA, to Milton Forster and Penny Joseph. The youngest of five siblings, he could be found fishing in his backyard, on piers and along the shores of the Chesapeake Bay throughout his youth and teenage years. Into adulthood, fishing continued as his passion, serving as the driving force with all he did, including landing in Islamorada in 1990 after living for a short time in Miami. At a young age, he was driven to serve those in need and continued with that drive until his passing on Sept. 6, 2021.
Mike spent most of his years living in Islamorada yet served those in need throughout the Upper Keys and eventually throughout the Florida Keys. Long an Islamorada resident, he moved to Key Largo in 2020. In his downtime, he enjoyed fishing and boating, and knew how not to be found somewhere in Florida Bay, a place he fought to preserve, and Everglades National Park, enjoying fishing in his nirvana, where he once spent an unfortunate night stranded without fuel. Mike was never without his “Makau” or Hawaiian fishhook necklace, always reminding him of its important symbolism – “ensuring a safe passage over water and bringing good fortune and strength to those who wear it.”
After stints at several Upper Keys restaurants including Pilot House and Melon’s, Mike opened the popular Mangrove Mike’s Café and Catering in 1998, opening a second location at Bud N’ Mary’s Marina in 2020.
Public service called on Mike in the early 2000s when he first served on the Local Planning Agency for the Village of Islamorada, soon followed by his initial campaign for the elected office of Village Council in 2002. After a break, he campaigned again in 2008, ultimately serving five consecutive terms for 12 years before terming out. He set his sights on the Monroe County Board of County Commissioners, winning the District Five seat in November 2020.
In addition to his elected public service, Mike served on the board of several not-for-profits including United Way of Collier and the Florida Keys, Florida Keys Healthy Start Coalition, MARC and Islamorada Chamber of Commerce. He was made an honorary member with the Key Largo Sunset Rotary in 2020.
One of his most cherished and celebrated missions involved traveling with a group of locals led by Pastor Tony Hammon to Uganda, Africa, to serve the hundreds of children living in orphanages, making annual treks from 2016 through 2018. He provided cows, food, soccer balls and bikes, as well as Shoes That Grow to several hundred children during the trips. Using excess campaign funds, he purchased equipment and built the Rick Strong Children’s Playground in memory of his “brother-from-another-mother” Rick Moeller. Mike formed special bonds during these trips with Dr. Miguel Diaz and Pastor Tony, who saw him through his final weeks on earth.
Practicing random acts of kindness was part of Mike’s DNA, helping hard-working individuals and families when they most needed a boost. Whether he found out through the welcoming place of his café or out on the street, his offers to help came as a comfort to countless people. In the wake of Hurricane Irma in 2017, he opened his café immediately feeding first responders and those in need for several weeks for free.
After many years of giving to organizations and others, Mike established his own foundation, Mangrove Mike’s Endeavors Paying Forward, at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, creating a mechanism for donations to provide food for those in need, first responders and healthcare workers, while also arranging for deliveries to be made by others or himself.
Always a dog lover he has owned, or really, they have owned him, several dogs over the years, including several Vizslas, a breed Mike favored. He leaves behind brother-and-sister duo Henry and Ms. Joy, named in memory of the late Capt. Hank and Joy Brown, now in the care of the Caceres family in Key Largo.
A virtual Celebration of Life is being planned to be shared via social media.
Per Mike’s wishes, his ashes will be scattered in his favorite fishing hole in Florida Bay, the place where he sought and found his peace, joining other legendary fishermen and guides who he loved and admired.
To honor Mike’s memory, a foundation board will be created to continue his legacy of serving the entire Keys community. Donations can be made to Mangrove Mike’s Endeavors Paying Forward, P.O. Box 1459, Islamorada, FL 33036. To support his efforts in Uganda, donations can be made in Mike’s memory to Island Community Church, 83250 Overseas Highway, Islamorada, FL 33070, or via www.islandcommunitychurch.org/give. Donations can also be made to United Way of Collier and the Florida Keys and Florida Keys Healthy Start Coalition.
Mike loved sharing inspirational quotes daily on Facebook, with many of his friends near and far looking forward to these each morning. His final post read, “The past is in your head. The future is in your hands.”
Let’s put Mike’s legacy in our hands to continue to his selfless giving for years to come. As Mike said, “It’s all about giving back, man.”
A man with a heart and a will to fight for a good cause
By Jim McCarthy
Blown-out windows from Hurricane Irma didn’t stop Mike Forster from opening his cafe to feed the many who responded to the disaster. A complete closure of the Keys to visitors during the early stages of the COVID-19 affected businesses and paychecks, propelling the Mangrove Mike’s Cafe owner to step up and help out in a time of need.
Ask Forster’s close friends what made him special to a tight-knit Upper Keys community, and they’ll say it was his heart.
An animal lover whose nirvana was fishing in the Everglades, Forster inspired many people by his many causes, from a student’s education to shoes for Ugandan children.
Island Community Church Pastor Tony Hammon met Forster more than a decade ago. Their relationship would begin with the two on opposite sides on village issues. But over time, the respect grew, and so did a close bond when Hammon would show Forster pictures of his mission trips to Africa.
Forster would end up participating in three mission trips to Uganda.
“Every time I’d show him pictures of the kids he’d tear up,” he said. “In 2016, he talked about really wanting to go.”
Hammon recalls a moment at the Atlanta airport on the way to Africa, when Forster and he received a phone call with news that Rick Moeller passed away after a bout with cancer. Both were wearing Rick Strong bracelets at the time. While grieving, Forster told Hammon he wanted to honor Rick, and thus came the “Rick Strong” playground.
“Doing all those things together, a real friendship developed. Then he moved into a house right next door to me,” Hammon said. “He had a great relationship going with (my wife) Colleen’s mom, who was 96 years old. You would have thought Mike was her son.
“Everyone who knew Mike, he was their best friend, or they were his best friend. I have said dozens of times he was sort of the catalyst for the heart and soul of Islamorada in so many ways,” he continued.
Former village councilwoman Deb Gillis met Forster in the early 2000s when she purchased Sunset Inn, located next to his cafe. Having served on the dais for a number of years with Fortser, Gillis said he was community-minded, well educated and made sound decisions based on his beliefs in what would benefit everyone.
“I never got the impression it was for him or to enhance his goals,” she said. “It was always about the community.”
Gillis said she’ll never forget the times Forster was there for her after the passing of her husband, Larry, in 2014.
“He was there by my side when that was going on. He became family. That’s what he did for everybody,” Gillis said.
Former Islamorada councilman and current state Rep. Jim Mooney met Forster around the time of the village’s incorporation in 1997. Mooney said he would become a figure every meeting. Mooney and Forster served on the dais together in 2002 and from 2014 to 2020. Forster would go on to become county commissioner for District 5 following an election win in November 2020. Mooney won election to the state House that year.
“He jumped into politics and he started his countdown days. He had a calendar crossing the days off until he could get out of there,” Mooney recalled with a laugh. “It’s frustrating when you try to do the right thing. He got out of it and we became better friends. I ended up finding out he was a fisherman and we’d go out every now and then together.”
Forster’s vision was working to make people’s lives better, whether it was clean water or workforce housing.
“Everything we still do to this day, that was his mantra,” Mooney said. “It’s hard to accomplish all the goals you want, but Mike was persistent and was good at it.”
Hammon will remember the scene of Ugandan children surrounding Forster, who would hand out Jolly Ranchers. He’ll also look back fondly on the time spent during flights learning more about him.
“I’ll remember hanging out around my boat trailer and skiff and talk about the day. It was not uncommon to pull up with the truck and ask for help unloading stuff, and it would be a load of vegetables from Farm Share,” he said. “When he addressed me, it would be ‘my pastor’ or ‘my spiritual adviser.’ I knew I was in for a project.”
Judith Liggett spends half the year in the Keys. She said one of the highlights was returning to the Keys and seeing Forster.
“He was a kind and loving soul … a true humanitarian and generous to the core,” she said. “He will be missed so very much by all who had the honor to know him.”
Gillis also won’t forget what Forster did for a mother and her child from the Bahamas who he found sitting at a grocery store with no place to go. Forster would get them a room at Sunset Inn for a couple days to help them out.
“He didn’t know that woman,” Gillis said. “He always wanted to give. He took care of everyone else before he took care of himself sometimes. That’s what made him special. If there was a need he was going to figure out how to do something about it.
“It doesn’t matter if you’re serving one person or 2,000 people,” Gillis continued. “If you can affect one person, that means a lot.”
