Michael was born in El Paso, Texas on May 8, 1953. He attended Scotsdale Elementary School and Eastwood High School. He was an electrical contractor working in various states and spent four years working for KBR in Iraq where he met his wife. The last years were spent in Bentonville, AR where he worked as project manager of water treatment development for WalMart.

He was preceded in death by his maternal and paternal grandparents, a brother Bruce Allen and a sister Donna Foster.
He is survived by his loving wife Emina and children Ahmed and Donna of Bentonville, AR; his parents Gene and Barbara Tibbs of Lafayette, LA; his sister Cheryl (Rusty) Hale of El Paso, TX; brother in law Lawrence “Scooter” Foster of Lafayette, LA; nephews Brett (Jamie) Hale of Austin, TX, Garrett Hale of Houston, TX and Drew Foster of Lafayette, LA.