Mika Silverman of Santa Barbara, 1976-2025 | Obituaries

Mika Silverman set off on her last voyage surrounded by family members on Oct. 17, 2025, on the age of 49.

Born in New York on Sept. 22, 1976 and raised in Southern California, Mika graduated from San Marcos High School in Santa Barbara. She went on to earn a level in physics from UC Santa Barbara, and an MBA from UC Irvine.

Mika was a world traveler in each life and work. As the founding father of her personal consulting enterprise, she supplied IT and enterprise options to cruise ship firms, discovering a solution to make a dwelling whereas exploring each main port metropolis on the globe.

To those that knew her, Mika was a lot greater than her spectacular résumé. She was a daughter, a proud older sister, devoted aunt, expensive buddy, knowledge scientist, instructor, hiker, pioneer, builder, and a dreamer.

She had a uncommon present for seeing potential in individuals and connecting them with objective. Mika’s optimism, ardour, mind, and zest for journey left a mark on everybody she met. She radiated kindness and knowledge, the sort that comes from actually dwelling.

For almost twenty years, Mika lived with most cancers (stage 4 since 2015), however she refused to let it outline her. She didn’t prefer to say she was “fighting” most cancers. Instead, she mentioned she was “living with it.” And reside she did.

There was an urgency to each second of her life, a deep understanding that point was valuable. While others hesitated, Mika acted — with intent, with pleasure, and with gratitude.

In the autumn of 2024, newly cleared to journey internationally, she flew to Prague to see expensive pals earlier than heading to Seville for work. Just earlier than boarding, she realized her newest scan introduced unhealthy information, however true to her spirit, she nonetheless obtained on the aircraft. She at all times obtained on the aircraft.

Mika believed in making recollections, in embracing magnificence even amid hardship. Her life was a lesson in resilience and beauty.

Mika’s household and pals hope her story evokes others to reframe life’s challenges, to not deal with not dying from them, however to really reside by them. That was Mika’s magic: she lived higher than most ever will, and she or he was deeply, fiercely liked.

Mika is survived by her dad and mom Samantha Swartout and Joel Silverman; sisters Dr. Piper Hughes and Jackie Silverman; and her beloved niece and nephew Asher and Riley Hughes.

In honor of Mika’s brave and joy-filled life, donations could also be made to the Breast Cancer Research Foundation, the place the vast majority of funds help new therapies and convey us nearer to a treatment: https://give.bcrf.org/fundraiser/6783469.

May all of us study from Mika’s instance — to decide on gratitude, to reside with intent, and to at all times, at all times get on the aircraft.