’Mike’, as most of us knew him, was born on January 29th, 1981, in Ottawa, Canada to his proud parents Ken and Debbie. He already had an older brother, Matt, and his younger sister, Katie, would be born several years later. A comparatively shy child, Mike grew up in the residential neighbourhood of Westboro in Ottawa. He attended Hilson elementary until grade 6, and then moved over to Broadview elementary for grades 7 and 8. He completed his schooling at Nepean high school.

Mike was a natural athlete. An easy-going and relaxed individual, who excelled at anything he put his mind to. He was an avid baseball player, growing up playing with Frank-Ryan little league, but also played soccer for the Nepean Hotspurs. However his real passion was for hockey. Hockey was an escape, an environment where he not only felt comfort and enjoyment, but he was a natural, and often received the team awards for ‘most dedicated’, ‘most valuable’ or ‘most sportsmanlike’ player.

Many who knew him personally can vividly remember his enthusiasm for sport. If he was not playing on an organized team, he would be out on the road with his home-made street hockey net (in this case home made, meant bullet-proof, this was a beast of a net). Other time would be spent out in the “third field” playing baseball or football. The “third field” is best described as the neighbourhood ‘sandlot’, where the kids would gather to play sports. In reality, it was the third field in a series of hydro fields, but the only one without any poles or supports on the ground (only a large set of wires running overhead), and as such provided a large, open grassy area to play in.

Mike never had any difficulty making friends, in fact that was something so magnetic about his personality, that despite being quite shy, people would vie to be his friend, or spend time with him. Always one of the most popular kids at school, Mike never let it go to his head, or maybe never realized his social status among his peers, which perhaps is what made his friendship even more valuable. This fact would also remain true as Mike entered his mid-teens, his good-looks, and natural charm made him a prime target for many girls who started to take an interest in him!

Flyguy; Mike’s cartoon character. A cartoon character that Mike developed in his early years at Hilson, became a well known symbol to all those who knew him. Drawing, conceptualizing and creating, were all of great interest to Mike. Like many other areas in his life, his cartoon character inspired others to be like him, and create their own characters, but nothing was quite the same. He used to sell comic books he put together about his character giving the proceeds to charity (the snow suit fund), but this was more of a hobby than anything else.

One of his passions in life was music. While it cannot be said that he was exactly ‘musically talented’, he did take after his brother Matt, and always managed to be on the cutting edge of popular music trends. His bedroom, or Matt’s, became a frequent hang-out where he and friends would create ‘mix tapes’ of all the latest songs (usually copied from Matt’s CD collection!). He was a big fan of concerts, and loved to get to see any of his favourite bands live.

It would only be towards the end of his life when Mike took an interest in another art, which was poetry. Something that Mike didn’t share with many people, he found an outlet for his passion, a place to put his thoughts, emotions, dreams, onto paper. At times it would seem as if his subconscious had taken over, and he would write about things which would seem beyond that of a typical teenager.

Mike loved movies. He once said his favourite move was Stanley Kubrick’s “The Shining”, but that he had a love of this art form as a method to portray ideas and thoughts. Although quite young, he was a “movie buff” always taking interest in a wide variety of movies, from the most popular, to cult films, and of course the classics.

His unique outlook on life taught many people, many different things. He always managed to put a positive spin on something, or find the words you needed to reassure you of something. When you were with him, you felt loved. He had such a strong power to persuade, yet rarely used it. He was always one to ‘go with the flow’, letting his presence be known, but never overbearing.

He had a great sense of humour, so much so that I can still hear his laugh now. His favourite foods were grilled cheese (which he would eat for any meal), and McDonalds hamburgers. He loved to play pool, and would frequently visit the local pool hall ‘The Orange Monkey’. Many nights were spent there discussing life across the green felt table.

Although he never particularly took a liking to conventional schooling, Mike was a very smart, savvy and perceptive individual. His favourite types of classes were topics like Business Admin., where the real-life applicability resonated well with him. He had planned to go into Police Sciences at Carleton University (with the ultimate goal of getting into Police work).

Although there are many stories to tell about Mike, they are best left to be told by those who experienced them with him. For those memories are forever engrained in us. The lessons we learned, the love and friendship we received, has forever changed those who knew him.

His life was cut short. On May 31st, 2000, Mike succumbed to the injuries he sustained in a fall while at work.

In a single moment, the world as we knew it had changed. But it is a better place because of Mike.

His life, his passions, his words of wisdom. The lessons he learned, and the lessons he taught, live on through those who knew him.

He is deeply missed, but never forgotten, and always in our hearts.