This was in the Morning Star Newspaper:Heidt, Michael John *Mike" 1963 - 2016
Tuesday, 13 Sep 2016
Vernon Morning Star
September 13, 2016: On a beautiful Fall morning in the Okanagan, with the sun shining and the blue sky, crisp and clear, Mike decided it was time to make his way to the afterlife.
Mike was diagnosed with a terminal brain tumour on December 27, 2015, after Dr. Burgess had an emergency room CT scan done and our life changed on a ‘dime’. After the initial shock, Mike and I took the positive approach to his prognosis and believed that there is a reason for everything that happens and/or who comes into your life.
By keeping a positive attitude, even on the lowest of days, Mike managed to do it with a smile and some humour until his last few days when the pain got to be too much.
Thru the journey of the last 8+ months we came into contact with “Angels wearing the disguise of ordinary people, living ordinary lives”. We give thanks to all the doctors and nurses, especially to those on the second floor of the Vernon Hospital who cared and loved Mike as if he was their own family; Lisa, Kayla, Maggie, Sara, Amber, Marley, Frazer, Brittney, Chelsey, Alicia, Alyssa, Lindsay … and so many more.
I believe that Mike was given this time so that the people in his life could come forward and express their gratitude and appreciation for his leadership, his integrity of his personal being, as well as, his work ethic, and the simple pride in everything he did from washing the vehicle, to building a patio for our home, building model cars, photography and so on. If it wasn’t for this time, Mike would never have known how much impact he had on people, as he was humble because “it’s just who he was”. Mike’s approach to everything he did was for the greater good, whether that was the company he worked for, or the people within.
Ward; his best friend and golfing partner … simply, he couldn’t ask for a better friend.
Fran; his confidant in life, that he always cared for and helped when he could.
To all of his/our friends from the Glass Plant, Okanagan Spring Brewery, Kal Tire, Vernon Vipers, Vernon Golf Course and many more, he always appreciated each and everyone of you in his life.
To our Family; We are closer more than ever now, even though we still have miles between our homes. We are bonded by our cancer tattoo’s that we got in February to outwardly show our support of both Breast & Brain Cancer. Justin being so like his uncle, that we’ll always have him to remind us of Mike. Sam is a caring, nurturing 16-year old that I look forward to watching grow as a person.
The lessons the rest of our family is learning is, that life is short, so embrace what we have today and always be moving forward. Be with people that make you better!
To my husband; Michael, for the past 28 years we’ve shared our journey, we had good times and we had challenging times, but we persevered thru it because no matter what we loved each other and were dedicated to our life together. This past 8+ months have brought us closer together in our quest for understanding of each other. We both are at peace with what God has given us.
Our philosophy is to look for the good in the bad, a golden nugget is there, you just need to find it.
One last thought from that day and the realization of how uncanny it was; I took a picture of the tattoo on Mike’s nurses arm; “Always together never apart, maybe in distance but never at heart”. I think that says it all!
In lieu of flowers, please donate on braintumour.ca, so that collectively we can help others in the future.
There will be a “celebration of living life” at the Vernon Golf Course on October 2, 2016, that will be by invitation, due to the limited space available. Please email MikeHeidtCelebration100216@gmail.com, if you are interested in attending.
Sincerely,
The family; Tamara (wife), Loraine (mother), Mishell (sister), Scot (brother-in-law), Justin (nephew), Samantha (niece). As well as, Lee (father-in-law), Petra (mother-in-law) and Mark (brother-in-law).
Cremation arrangements were made with Bethel Funeral Chapel Ltd., 5605-27th Street, Vernon, B.C. V1T 8Z5 • 250-542-1187
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