Obituary of Michael Clark Cahill

Dr. Michael Clark Cahill, 70 years old, of Duncanville, TX, went home to be with Jesus on June 21, 2024, after being diagnosed just two months earlier with a very aggressive cancer. Mike was born on February 7, 1954 to James B. Cahill and Ruth Ellen Cahill in Albuquerque, New Mexico, but moved around the country with his parents throughout his childhood. In college, he accepted Jesus as his Lord and Savior and had a radical change in his life's objectives. He graduated from Iowa State University in 1977 with a B.S. in Bio-Chemistry, and taught high school science and mathematics for five years in Iowa.

In 1982, he joined Wycliffe Bible Translators and spent two years in Ghana, where he met his wife Virginia (Ginia) Kuczun, whom he married in July, 1984. Mike finished a Master's degree in Linguistics from the University of Texas in Arlington before they returned to Ghana in 1985. They lived with the Koma people for 11 years, learning the language, teaching literacy, and beginning a Bible translation project. Mike and Ginia went on to have three children, Deborah, Laura, and Stephen.

After returning to the States in 1993, he received his Doctorate of Linguistics from Ohio State University in 1999 and then began working at the International Linguistics Center in Dallas, Texas. Since then, he has worked as the International Linguistics Coordinator, Editor of Global Publishing, and was in the position of International Orthography director for SIL, as well as Adjunct Assistant Professor of Applied Linguistics at Dallas International University.

He is survived by his wife, Ginia; his daughter, Deborah Hays and her husband, Eric, and their four children - Jude, Anika, Heidi, and Lovisa; his daughter Laura; and his son Stephen; and his brother Bill Cahill.

Mike loved his work and was passionate about people being able to receive the Bible in their own language. He enjoyed talking and listening to people, and genuinely cared about everyone who crossed his path, whether professionally or personally. He was deeply involved in Boy Scout Troop 141, the Atheist & Christian Book Club, his church life group, and multiple linguistic and academic communities.