With a sadness almost too big for words we regretfully announce that Mike passed away after a short battle with cancer on Friday, October 4th with family by his side.
Born June 8th, 1965 in Fort William, Ontario to parents Phyllis and Bev Young, he was the youngest of four children.
Survived by wife Angie, son Jesse (Cassie) Young, daughter Codie (Kirk) Meijaard and grandchildren Saylor and Riley Meijaard as well as brother Brian (Debbie) Young, sister Lori (Jim) Power, brother Donald (Merrill) Young, mother-in-law Dorothy Sigurdson, and many nieces and nephews. Mike was predeceased by parents Phyllis and Bev Young, father-in-law Albert Sigurdson and brother-in-law Terry Sigurdson.
Family was everything to Mike. He was so happy both his children found partners that made them so happy. A recent trip to Toronto to visit Jesse and Cassie was the highlight of his summer just before he got sick.
One of Mike’s greatest joys was becoming a grandpa. Saylor would jump up and run to the window any time she heard her grandpa’s truck pulling into the driveway. We were still working on getting Riley over the fear of grandpa’s goatee. Mike would often text “how’s everyone doing over there today?” and FaceTime over dinner to see the kids. They will miss him greatly but will always know how much he loved them.
On the May and September long weekends, Mike could be found at Steve’s Place on Sandstone Lake with his second family, affectionately referred to as our “camp family”. Many of these friendships spanned three generations, some beginning in Phyllis and Bev’s kitchen when he was six years old. Friends truly are the family you pick for yourself!
A big part of Mike’s life was his work as a diesel mechanic. He was truly gifted, sometimes getting calls at home in the evening from people he didn’t even know who got his name from someone else – “call Mike at Halow’s, he’ll fix you up”. Mike’s coworkers and his customers were also his friends, especially Rob. A lifelong friendship was forged over coffee and diesel fuel, having worked side by side for over 20 years.
When not at the shop, Mike’s happy place was in his garage at home. It would not be unusual to find him restoring vintage outboard motors, rebuilding wooden boats (literally strip by strip), working on his latest project snowmobile, making gifts for family or friends, or fixing anything else that showed up at the door.
He was truly the most kind, gentle, and generous man. He would do anything for anybody without thinking twice. You’d be hard pressed to find anyone among his friends or family who didn’t have a story about something he fixed, built, or rescued them from. The sight and sound of his big blue truck coming down the road meant help was near.
Special thanks to Dr. Kevin Bezanson and his palliative team for their exceptional care and guidance throughout the entire journey. Thank you as well to Dr. Lohkamp, the ParaMed nurses, staff of 1A and ICU at Thunder Bay Regional, and at St. Joseph’s Hospice. If there’s any silver lining at all to this dark time, it’s been the outpouring of support we’ve received from our friends and neighbours when we needed it the most. They loved Mike as much as we did.
A celebration of Mike’s life will be held at the Rosslyn Village Community Centre on Saturday, October 19th from 1 pm to 4 pm. In lieu of flowers, donations to the Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre Palliative Care Fund would be greatly appreciated.
Condolences may be made through www.nwfainc.com
