It’s with heavy hearts we announce the passing of our beloved husband, great father, son, best uncle and friend at the age of 60 at Dryden Regional Hospital.
Mike will be greatly missed by his wife Pam of 33 years, son Andrew “AJ” (Cassi), daughter Katie (Ben). His father John, brothers; Steven (Sherry), Theo (Mary Lou), brother-in-law’s Marc, Allan, Don (Karen), Neil (Patty), nieces and nephews: Juli (Joel), Jennifer, Sarah (Shane), Jon (Raegan), Kristy, Shawn (Jessi), Steven (Melanie), Amy (Brendan), Lisa, Chris (Kristen). As well as great nieces and nephews and family in the Netherlands.
Mike was predeceased by his mother Theresia (2025), brother Jerome (1984), In-laws Alex Mireault (1994) and Lorraine (2015), sister-in-law Denise (2018), nephew Marc (2025) and relatives in the Netherlands.
Mike was born in Saskatoon, then moved to Winnipeg at a young age where he spent the majority of his childhood. He eventually moved to Waldhof to be closer to his retired parents, brother Steve and family. He ended up working at a few jobs along the way until he found his passion working as the Parts Manager at Dryden GM, where he worked there for several years. He loved his job, especially his work family and was always so appreciative of all that they had done for him over the years.
In 1990 he met Pam, who was his best friend and the love of his life. They married in June of 1991 and welcomed their first child Andrew in 1992, then daughter Katie in 1998. His wife and children were his pride and joy.
Mike was very passionate about going on a family vacation every year. Whether it was a summer camping trip to Blue Lake, or a winter get away in Mexico, he loved to go on a holiday as long as he was with his family. One of his all time favourite trips was to Hawaii where he got to try surfing for the first time. Mike loved his 1965 VW Beetle that he bought off his mom and spent countless years restoring and upgrading it to the show car it is today. He brought it to every car show within driving distance and was so happy when his Beetle won 1st place at the World of Wheels show in Winnipeg.
He still proudly has all his trophies and all his other Beetle memorabilia on display. After running out of upgrades for his beetle he decided to take on an even bigger challenge and built a 1968 VW Convertible Beetle from scratch for his wife. Mike was very passionate about anything to do with cars. His other big passion was riding his motorcycle. He constantly looked for any excuse to go for a ride if it was a nice sunny day.
Mike was insistent on his kids learning life skills so that when Andrew and Katie were of age to drive a car, he made sure their first vehicle was a manual transmission. They learned how to shift by going up and down the hill on the driveway, and stalling many many times. He taught them how to change a tire, complete oil changes and be good problem solvers. Mike was always a patient and supportive dad.
Mike was a hard worker and quick learner. He was good at anything he set his mind to, whether it be woodworking, welding, sand blasting, electrical or mechanical. If he didn’t know how to do something, he would watch a video or do some research and somehow end up doing it flawlessly.
He loved to help work on projects at Andrew’s house in Alberta and would always make it a priority by bringing everything but the kitchen sink to help. Mike always went out of his way to help others whom he knew needed an extra hand. He also was a practical jokester (which he must’ve learned that from his mom) and was constantly making others laugh. He always made sure everyone else was taken care of.
Mike faced his illness with so much strength. He endured years of chemotherapy & radiation treatments, surgeries and medication with nothing short of a brave smile. Mike’s family would like to extend a huge thank you to all of the staff, nurses and doctors at the TBRH, DRHC and home care who took care of him throughout the years. He was so appreciative of all the support that he received during this time.
A Funeral Mass will take place on July 7, 2025 at 11 a.m. at the St. Joseph’s Roman Catholic Church.
In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the DRHC- Oncology Dept. P.O. Box 3003, Dryden, ON P8N 2Z6 or to Tamarack House, 984 Oliver Rd. Thunder Bay, ON P7B 7C7
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