Today we celebrate the life of our dear friend, Michael.. You shared your joyous smile and laugh. You shared your zest for life and the passion for all those things that were important to you.
Each of us has special anecdotes we want to recount. We have compiled a few of these memories that we believe best illustrate the unique personality of our dynamic friend, father, brother and son.
Mike was always determined, mostly upbeat and rarely defeated.
He took pride in every aspect of life especially his beautiful daughter Tiffany. She was his life. He did anything and everything to be with her. It is our highest hope that somehow his young daughter will know the caliber of her Dad. Mike left a time capsule for her, which he put together on the day of her birth. She is to open it on her 18th birthday, I have faith that the combination of its contents will reveal the essence of the man that we were lucky enough to know in his previous form.
Mike expressed to me the satisfaction he felt upon completing his last assignment at work. His words resonate ….If I am unable to go back to work, at least I leave knowing I did the best job I have ever done.
Mike and I met in 1988 at Victoria General Hospital where we worked together. I invited him to my wedding and at the last minute he showed up on his 10speed wearing bike shorts. During the reception lunch an entourage of antique airplanes landed on the airstrip across the street from our house. It was at this time I learned of his love for flight. Perhaps it was a sign that we would be forever connected by that day.
He made quite an impression on my family and has been an integral part ever since. We have lived no further than 10 miles away from each other in the last 20 years. He is a brother to Mark and me, and an uncle to Ashleigh , Aaron, and Madison.
Mark’s father Sam looked upon him as a son. My own father always inquired if Mike would be joining us for Christmas or Easter dinner. Both of them feel an immeasurable loss at his passing.
Earl and Sam helped him start into the world of tile.
Karl gave him his first job in the computer business. Here is where I should mention he was self taught.
Mike’s obsession with Star Trek goes so far that he actually owns a book called “ The Physics of Star Trek”…..It details how Star Trek could actually be real.
Mike drank wine out of a box with ice cubes….
Mike was a man who craved life and knowledge. His curiosity about the way things worked in the universe and their relation to each other was only mirrored in his desire to know people and relate to them. He was equal parts friend and guardian. His intensity was so clear and contagious, he could make you excited about the driest scientific subject if only to watch him light up and hear his booming laugh. When I look up in the night sky an see the constellation of Orion I always think of Mike. He pointed it out to me in Los Angeles in our old backyard before he moved away; I remember missing him so much. He was like an additional big brother God had loaned me during the most influential time of my life. Mike could carouse with the best of us but he also worked as hard as he partied and made me appreciate the balance. He was always watching out for me and did so for all the kids in his life. After his daughter was born he would talk about her like he was describing the planets and the vastness of space. He saw infinite potential in her eyes, he saw himself, and he was amazed by her very existence. She filled him with wonder and inspiration. He made all of us better people for being in our lives and we owe him thanks for being just like family.
If Mike was a Crayola crayon he would be yellow.
Mike of course delighted us with his talents and enthusiasms, his incomparable knowledge of space and science and how we must enjoy it. One of his first gifts to Ashleigh was a globe of the moon -completely labeled with names of the craters, Seas and mountain ranges. She was 7…And she loved it.
I met Mike at the wedding in 1988. From that time we had always had an attraction for each other but circumstances kept us apart. Mike was always a part of my family so that I was able to take a swing and two step dance class together. He really enjoyed the swing dancing …..not so much the two step. Mike and I reconnected February of 08. Recently he wanted to watch Battle Star Galactica but made me watch a half hour web intro just so I could understand what had transpired in the series before we watched the latest episode….
One of Mike’s biggest dreams was to see the Space Shuttle Launch. He finally achieved his dream this past November while in Florida on business.
Last Friday, Mike chose life for the last time. He chose the fulfillment of life for himself by returning to the Father. He chose life for us by freeing those that he loved from seeing him losing his physical abilities and from the need to care for him.
These stories are so beautiful and such a perfect illustration of Mike. I wish I could have been there to meet you. I'm very sure that these stories made Mary and Sheila smile.
There is another contingent up here in Victoria who have countless hilarious tales of Mike's teenage mischief, which will unfold at his celebration. I hope to provide you with the same notes from across the border.
I don't know why but this line made me laugh:
made me watch a half hour web intro just so I could understand what had transpired in the series before we watched the latest episode ….
I can not believe he is gone, I am in shock. Have so many good memorys of mike going way back to grade 10. Can anyone tell me pls how to get ahold of Mary or Sheila?
could someone let me know when this celebration will be and where? or maybe have Sheila or Mary call me? Corinne 604-794-3886 paintedpony39@hotmail.com Thankyou
Beautiful!
ReplyDeleteMonn always send a special mesage!
Today we celebrate the life of our dear friend, Michael.. You shared your joyous smile and laugh. You shared your zest for life and the passion for all those things that were important to you.
ReplyDeleteEach of us has special anecdotes we want to recount. We have compiled a few of these memories that we believe best illustrate the unique personality of our dynamic friend, father, brother and son.
Mike was always determined, mostly upbeat and rarely defeated.
He took pride in every aspect of life especially his beautiful daughter Tiffany. She was his life. He did anything and everything to be with her. It is our highest hope that somehow his young daughter will know the caliber of her Dad. Mike left a time capsule for her, which he put together on the day of her birth. She is to open it on her 18th birthday, I have faith that the combination of its contents will reveal the essence of the man that we were lucky enough to know in his previous form.
Mike expressed to me the satisfaction he felt upon completing his last assignment at work. His words resonate ….If I am unable to go back to work, at least I leave knowing I did the best job I have ever done.
Mike and I met in 1988 at Victoria General Hospital where we worked together. I invited him to my wedding and at the last minute he showed up on his 10speed wearing bike shorts. During the reception lunch an entourage of antique airplanes landed on the airstrip across the street from our house. It was at this time I learned of his love for flight. Perhaps it was a sign that we would be forever connected by that day.
He made quite an impression on my family and has been an integral part ever since. We have lived no further than 10 miles away from each other in the last 20 years. He is a brother to Mark and me, and an uncle to Ashleigh , Aaron, and Madison.
Mark’s father Sam looked upon him as a son. My own father always inquired if Mike would be joining us for Christmas or Easter dinner. Both of them feel an immeasurable loss at his passing.
Earl and Sam helped him start into the world of tile.
Karl gave him his first job in the computer business. Here is where I should mention he was self taught.
Mike’s obsession with Star Trek goes so far that he actually owns a book called “ The Physics of Star Trek”…..It details how Star Trek could actually be real.
Mike drank wine out of a box with ice cubes….
Mike was a man who craved life and knowledge. His curiosity about the way things worked in the universe and their relation to each other was only mirrored in his desire to know people and relate to them. He was equal parts friend and guardian. His intensity was so clear and contagious, he could make you excited about the driest scientific subject if only to watch him light up and hear his booming laugh. When I look up in the night sky an see the constellation of Orion I always think of Mike. He pointed it out to me in Los Angeles in our old backyard before he moved away; I remember missing him so much. He was like an additional big brother God had loaned me during the most influential time of my life. Mike could carouse with the best of us but he also worked as hard as he partied and made me appreciate the balance. He was always watching out for me and did so for all the kids in his life. After his daughter was born he would talk about her like he was describing the planets and the vastness of space. He saw infinite potential in her eyes, he saw himself, and he was amazed by her very existence. She filled him with wonder and inspiration. He made all of us better people for being in our lives and we owe him thanks for being just like family.
If Mike was a Crayola crayon he would be yellow.
Mike of course delighted us with his talents and enthusiasms, his incomparable knowledge of space and science and how we must enjoy it. One of his first gifts to Ashleigh was a globe of the moon -completely labeled with names of the craters, Seas and mountain ranges. She was 7…And she loved it.
I met Mike at the wedding in 1988. From that time we had always had an attraction for each other but circumstances kept us apart. Mike was always a part of my family so that I was able to take a swing and two step dance class together. He really enjoyed the swing dancing …..not so much the two step. Mike and I reconnected February of 08. Recently he wanted to watch Battle Star Galactica but made me watch a half hour web intro just so I could understand what had transpired in the series before we watched the latest episode….
One of Mike’s biggest dreams was to see the Space Shuttle Launch. He finally achieved his dream this past November while in Florida on business.
Last Friday, Mike chose life for the last time. He chose the fulfillment of life for himself by returning to the Father. He chose life for us by freeing those that he loved from seeing him losing his physical abilities and from the need to care for him.
These stories are so beautiful and such a perfect illustration of Mike. I wish I could have been there to meet you. I'm very sure that these stories made Mary and Sheila smile.
ReplyDeleteThere is another contingent up here in Victoria who have countless hilarious tales of Mike's teenage mischief, which will unfold at his celebration. I hope to provide you with the same notes from across the border.
I don't know why but this line made me laugh:
made me watch a half hour web intro just so I could understand what had transpired in the series before we watched the latest episode ….
Thank you for posting this.
Susie
I can not believe he is gone, I am in shock. Have so many good memorys of mike going way back to grade 10. Can anyone tell me pls how to get ahold of Mary or Sheila?
ReplyDeletecould someone let me know when this celebration will be and where? or maybe have Sheila or Mary call me?
ReplyDeleteCorinne 604-794-3886 paintedpony39@hotmail.com
Thankyou