Michael D. Gaal, 54, of Bethlehem, died peacefully March 1, 2025, surrounded by his loving family in Lehigh Valley Hospital, Muhlenberg, Bethlehem.

Born March 26, 1970, in Allentown, he was the son of Barry L. and Ruth E. (Kuhns) Gaal, with whom he resided.

A graduate of Mercy Special Learning Center, Allentown. he was employed at various locations and most recently retired after working 15 years for Sodexo as a food service worker at Lehigh University.

He was a member of Grace Presbyterian Church, Bethlehem.

A highly decorated Special Olympics athlete who began competing at age 7, through Bethlehem Special Olympics, he competed in numerous sports, including golf, bowling and volleyball, and particularly excelled in gymnastics and power lifting.

For 37 years, he trained weekly at Parkettes National Gymnastics Center and, on occasion, he performed in front of hundreds of spectators at Parkettes Invitational meets.

He competed twice in the Special Olympics World Games winning two gold, three silver, and two bronze medals in 1991 in Minneapolis, Minn. and two bronze medals in 1995 in New Haven, Conn.

He also met Eunice Kennedy Shriver, Special Olympics founder, at the games.

In 1991, he was honored to represent Special Olympics and run the last leg of the torch run celebrating Bethlehem’s 250th anniversary. He was inducted by Joe Paterno into the inaugural class of Special Olympics Pennsylvania Hall of Fame in 1996 at the Marriott Hotel, Philadelphia.

That same year, he was also inducted into the Bethlehem Special Olympics Hall of Fame.

He won seven gold medals in the Special Olympics Division in 1998 at the Peter Vidmar International Men’s Gymnastics Invitational at UCLA.

The Bethlehem Jaycees recognized him with the “Outstanding Young Fitness Leader” award in 2005.

In honor of their 50th anniversary, Special Olympics Pennsylvania recognized him as one of its “Brightest Stars” and prepared a YouTube video highlighting his accomplishments.

He competed in power lifting at 142 pounds, winning many awards with personal bests of 155 pounds in bench press and 245 pounds in dead lift.

He loved the Philadelphia Phillies and Penn State football.

In 2016, he was invited to stand on the Washington Nationals dugout and open the game against the Phillies by shouting “play ball.” In 2022, he represented individuals with disabilities and ran the bases between innings during a Lehigh Valley IronPigs game.

He was active in the community, participating in numerous Bethlehem Morning Star Rotary Club 5K races and assisting on many occasions to raise money for Bethlehem Special Olympics.

Additional interests included attending high school musicals and watching the Freddy Awards.

In addition to his loving parents, he is survived by siblings Natalie Gaal Lowenfeld (Ed) of Farmington Hills, Mich., Gregory S. Gaal (PJ) of Limerick, and Steven A. Gaal of Castle Rock, Colo.; and nieces and nephews Marc, Caroline, Emma, Paige and Hayden.

Expressions of sympathy may be offered at heintzelmancares.com.

Memorial contributions may be made to Parkettes National Gymnastics Center and/or to Bethlehem Special Olympics, both c/o the funeral home, P.O. Box 196, Schnecksville, PA 18078-0196.

Arrangements were made by Heintzelman Funeral Home Inc., Schnecksville.