Mike Lebeis IBEW Family Support Fund

(Fundraiser started with family approval. Mike and his children are the sole beneficiaries of this fundraiser.)

Early Monday morning, July 25, IBEW 4th year apprentice Mike Lebeis’ wife Tawney Summarell-Lebeis passed away suddenly at age 37, leaving behind Mike and their three children. Two daughters ages 12 and 7, and a 9 year old son.

Mike and his kids’ world will never be the same, but we can help make sure their day-to-day needs are met while they grieve and begin healing.

If you ever worked with Mike on a site, you know that he is tough as nails, he shows up and gives 100%, no BS. That’s who he has always been–when he served in the military, when working Limited Energy before joining the inside wire apprenticeship, and when he recently passed his Washington State Electrical 01 exam with flying colors. Whether it’s on or off the job, Mike 100% has your back. Now it’s time for us to have his back as he contends with a reality that no father and husband ever wants to face.

It’s hard to fully describe what an incredible person Mike's wife Tawney was. If you ever met her, you would’ve been impressed with the energy and drive that she brought to all she did, as a player on multiple competitive softball teams, as an artist who brought her Native heritage to her beading and artwork, and more than anything, as a dedicated wife and mother. As a stay-at-home mom raising their children, she also showed strength. Earlier this year, Tawney took her oldest daughter with her to a national Native softball tournament in Albuquerque to show her “that she can be proud, stand up, and accomplish anything.”

The weekend before her death, Tawney competed with her softball team, Firestarter, in Kent, WA, notching a victory in a memorial tournament held for a teammate lost to Covid. Mike, their children and many friends were there to cheer Tawney on. After the tournament, she spoke excitedly about upcoming tournaments in Florida and Las Vegas later this year, surrounded by friends and family laughing with the freshly won championship trophy. Tawney and Mike were also celebrating his accomplishments, as he had recently passed the Washington State Electrical 01 exam while heading into his final year of his apprenticeship. The future was bright for Mike and Tawney right when this terrible tragedy struck.

As friends, coworkers, and members of IBEW, we are launching this fundraiser to support Mike and his children during this unspeakably difficult time, to help with expenses including funeral costs, therapeutic support for the children, and other urgent and ongoing family needs. We ask that you keep Mike and his children in your prayers, donate if you can, and share this fundraiser with others.

We will share updates when we receive them, while also working to respect Mike and his family’s privacy during this difficult time.

About the organizer: Created by friends, coworkers, and IBEW Brothers and Sisters. When we learned about Mike’s terrible loss, union members from multiple trades on the job sites were asking how they could help. We asked Mike’s permission to start this GoFundMe to provide a venue for supporting him and his children. Mike and his children are the sole beneficiaries of this fundraiser.