Michael J. Tulish, 68, of Telford, Pa., passed away at his residence July 27, 2022.
(Photo courtesy of Jeff Tulish)
Michael J. Tulish, 68, of Telford, Pa., passed away at his residence July 27, 2022.
Originally from Conshohocken, Pa., he was the son of the late Joseph and Rose (Dayoc) Tulish and was the husband of Deborah (Martin) Tulish for 38 years.
Mr. Tulish was a member of the Local #542 International Union of Operating Engineers for more than 45 years and worked primarily for Penn Jersey Machinery. Mr. Tulish was widely known and respected as an extremely hard worker and loved providing for his family. He especially loved spending time with his eight grandchildren.
Known to his customers and coworkers as "Mikey," he started his career in the heavy equipment industry in 1970 with L.B. Smith Inc. at its Gravers Road location in Plymouth Meeting, Pa. At 16 years old, he lied on his application about having a driver's license to obtain the part-time parts delivery position. After graduating high school in 1972, Mr. Tulish moved into a full-time warehouse associate position at L.B. Smith, eventually finishing the last decade of his career as the field service manager until his retirement.
Aside from a brief stint as an equipment operator during the layoffs caused by the 1981-1982 recession, Mr. Tulish worked solely for L.B. Smith Inc. (which later became Penn Jersey Machinery) for almost 50 years until his retirement in 2018.
Mr. Tulish's true passion in the equipment industry was his love for customer service, according to his son, Jeff Tulish, vice president of Stephenson Equipment Inc., based in Prospect Park, Pa. In an age now where it seems hard to get someone to even answer a phone, said Jeff, he had a reputation with his technicians and customers for doing whatever it took to keep you going. Off hours or on, night or weekend, it didn't matter; if your machine was down, he would work to do whatever it took to get you back up and running.
According to Jeff Tulish, in 1997, his father asked him to meet him for lunch.
"I was about to graduate high school and was just a kid with good amount of potential but no real direction," said Jeff. "He pitched me on a career working in the heavy equipment industry, with the vision of operating and playing with big equipment, which was every little boy's dream. I started on the steam rack, cleaning equipment. With the work ethic and customer service focus that my father instilled, along with some great opportunities, I am now vice president of Stephenson Equipment Inc. I also volunteer time outside of the workday to workforce development as vice chair of the AED workforce development committee and advisory committee member for Delaware County Technical High Schools, attempting to provide career opportunities to students and draw them to the heavy equipment industry. It's my version of paying it forward.
"My father had a work ethic that was unmatchable," Jeff added. "He took an extreme amount pride in whatever he did, whether it was keeping the cleanest floor of any stock room or running the most profitable service division in his company. It wasn't worth doing if you weren't trying to be the best at it."
"Mikey always had your back, no question about it," said John Bainbridge, retired field service technician of L.B. Smith/Penn Jersey Machinery. "If you ever needed anything, you could count on him."
"He was a pleasure to work with," said John "Herb" Herbut of James J. Anderson Construction Company Inc. "Mikey was always there for you when you needed him most, willing to jump right in and figure out a solution."
In addition to his wife, Deborah, Mr. Tulish is survived by his sons, Michael Tulish (Megan), Jeffrey Tulish (Kelly), Jason Tulish, Kevin Tulish and Brian Tulish; grandchildren, Alazaya, Zoe, Riley, Carter, Emily, Audrey, Julian and Rowan; siblings Alan Tulish and JoAnn Losew. He was predeceased by his sister, Carolyn Shirk.
Memorial Contributions may be made to St. Jude's Children's Hospital, 262 Danny Thomas Place, Memphis, TN 38105.
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