It has been an exciting 100th year of celebration for the Tibbetts United Methodist Church of West Seattle. The church has been featuring a steady stream of noted speakers like Lenny Wilkens and others to Sunday morning services.

On May 24, Tibbetts will honor artist and speaker Michael Reagan, founder of the Fallen Heroes Project. He will discuss why he gave up his $150,000 annual salary at the University of Washington to dedicate his life to his project, which he considers something of greater value than money.

Many in Reagan’s hometown of Edmonds know him as the artist who once had the studio by the ferry. To those on campus he was their well-paid guru on trademarks and licensing. He gave up the job and the studio, too, and works from home.

Now, he is known nationally as a humble hero who sketches fallen service men and women. He works in charcoal and, at no charge, creates framed portraits of soldiers who lost their lives to war in Iraq and Afghanistan. He works 10-hour days, the time it takes to create two portraits, and seldom takes a day off.

“This project is apolitical,” Reagan said. “I volunteered to go to Vietnam, and served in 1967 and 1968. I am proud I did it. I will leave it at that. I would never go back to Vietnam. It would not be healing for me. This project is healing.”

Reagan generally receives a soldier’s photo mailed by a family member and he mails the portrait back. But in the case of Army Spc. Christopher W. Dickison, a White Center resident killed in Baqubah, Iraq on July 5, 2005, at age 26, Reagan hand-delivered the portrait because the family lives in the area.

He worked from a photo taken by Dickison’s fiancee, Magdalene, in Topeka where they met while he was stationed at Fort Riley.

“Mike and his wife came all this way to drop the picture off. It was wrapped in paper,” said Christopher’s mother Leanna, a Top Hat resident. “Mike said, 'you guys just go in the house and have your moment together.' He didn’t even come in. We were, shocked. The picture looked just like (Christopher), a beautiful, beautiful picture. It made us cry tears of joy. Michael does so much good for so many people, from his heart. That’s all I can say. He’s got a huge, huge heart. He just wants to contribute.”

Leanna found out about the Fallen Heroes Project through radio host Ichabod Caine of 94.1 KMPS-FM, a Seattle country station.

“He interviewed me on the air on my son’s 27th birthday, Sept. 29, 2005," said Leanna. "He got me hooked up with Michael."

It was also the birthday of Christopher’s twin sister, Ronda Herrera, who lives in Auburn. Both were raised since age 7 in the Top Hat house with four older siblings, and both were baptized at Our Lady of Guadalupe in West Seattle.

Fauntleroy historian and author Ron Richardson met Dickison’s mother and also got involved with preserving his memory.

“His mother showed up at my house with Michael Reagan’s drawing of Christopher,” said Richardson. “I was struck by Michael’s generosity. Leanna noticed the sign I keep in my front yard of the number of dead in Iraq and Afghanistan which I update each week. Christopher was the 1,754th American soldier to die in the war in Iraq. The number is now at 4,294. I have the number ‘1,754’ in honor of Christopher next to the other number. But this number doesn’t change.”

The Michael Reagan event is open to the public, Sunday, May 24 at 10 a.m.

Tibbetts United Methodist Church, 3940 41st Ave. S.W. (206) 932-7777.