Michael "Mike" George Mychan

It is with heavy hearts that we announce the passing of Michael Mychan, loving Husband, Father, Papa, Brother and Friend. Michael touched so many lives with his generosity, compassion, sense of humor, kindness and selflessness.

Michael, thank-you for being you. Through your journey of life you taught us so many lessons, some of which were your unconditional love, courage, determination and how to be brave when the going gets tough. When others may have faltered you were our rock, our steady and our compass. Thank-you for being a man I am proud to call my friend, partner in life, and my husband.

You were so much more than my husband. You were a loving father and the best PAPA any child could ask for. You were a playmate, protector, educator and caregiver. All children were drawn to you and your playful nature. Be it relatives or friends to you it did not matter, you loved them all and they loved you! You were the Papa that made every yard we had a child’s playground that was enjoyed by so many children. You will live on in all the hearts of the children that were lucky enough to have spent time with you.

Michael was a Jack of all trades; plumber, carpenter, electrician and master shack builder.

Mike’s world was his family. He was always very proud of his children and grandchildren and for all that they have and will accomplish.

Michael I would rather endure this inexplicable pain of outliving you than to have never held you in my arms… regardless of the years I roam this earth holding you not in my arms but in my heart. I am blessed and grateful for having you in my life.

Until we meet again. Love forever and always.

Memorial services entrusted to Travis Minor, come and go service will be held at Acadia McKague's Funeral Centre located on 915 Acadia Drive, Saskatoon SK. Sharing words will began at 2:00pm and go on from there. Come grab some snacks and a shot and celebrate Mike's life!

A message from Reuben and Jan

I have saved our memories of Mike, our dear friend and very good neighbor, for last, because others have said what I wanted to say. A theme has become apparent from these testimonials, and that is that Mike cared. He cared about people, regardless of who they were, their age or where they came from. He had a unique set of skills (including people skills) and he devoted his life to using those skills to serve others. I mentioned this to Dianne yesterday and her response was that to Mike, everyone was special, and that is very clear from what we have heard today.

Although we lived next door to Mike and Dianne for several years, it took us awhile to get to know each other. We were all very busy in those days with our own things; Mike went to work very early in the morning and arrived home mid-afternoon. I was consumed with my work and our boys’ various sports activities. We just kind of said hello in passing. When I retired in 2013, I started to pay attention to what was going on next door. In particular, I remember watching Mike and Dianne building their deck. We had built a new deck (which Dianne says gave them the idea), but we weren’t particularly happy. It was then I realized that I had made a mistake, I should have had my neighbor (Mike) build our deck. Over the next several years, we had done more than made up. Mike became our resident handyman, carpenter and plumber. While Mike was in the hospital, I thought about him a lot, and during a visit, I mentioned to him that everywhere I looked in our house, our yard or garage, I see him. Things that he has painted, repaired or built. I hasten to add that Dianne was often part of these building projects. Did you notice in the testimonial we have just heard how often Dianne’s name was mentioned when it came to building and repairs? Incredible woman.

Michael had a profound effect on our lives. As an example, we have each other’s house keys so that when the other is away, we put in the mail, check the house, water the plants, lawn etc… I should mention that compared to mikes garage, mine is a mess. We went to Italy last June and Mike was staining our house while we were away. When we returned, Mike had built shelves and racks for my tools and other things in our garage, and everything was in order. That was just the kind of person he was, always giving, thinking of others.

In more recent years, Jan and I became very good friends with Mike and Dianne. I greatly admired Mike for his skills and his brilliance as a handyman; he was everything that I was not. Thus, we were a perfect fit; I had constant needs and he could provide solutions. Last summer he stained our house and garage; two summers ago he and Ken had built a new fence for us and put new railings on our deck. Before that, he renovated my office and bathroom downstairs. The list goes on and on; painting, shoveling, carpet, installing blinds, and did I say fixing broken household items? That was really where Michael shone, he seemed to have a store room in the back of his mind where he remembered how things worked. On the off chance he got stuck, a short visit with Mr. Google usually got him back on track. We always had projects on the go, in fact, Jan was compiling a list while Mike was in the hospital. I used to joke with him, that as long as he was my neighbor, I had no reason to move into a condo, recognizing that eventually, it would be me who would break that agreement.

There was more to our relationship than just projects, and that is our-right friendship. We have two grand-daughters that are close in age to Samantha and Taylor. Before Covid, our grand-daughters spent a lot of time with us and their favorite playmates were Samantha and Taylor; this began again this past summer as things began to open up. In any case, Mike and I would usually tag along to ensure that the house did not get burnt down. If they weren’t out riding their bikes, they would be in either one of their back-yards. Mike and Dianne’s place was favored because of the swings, trampoline, and other toys, Dianne always had a project for them. Mike had the perfect personality for children; calm, loving, guiding and always teaching. Children were attracted to him, and they loved him in return.

We would often get together in the evening for a drink. In 2020, it was talking back and forth, across our fence, deck to deck, but more recently, we would get together on our deck or driveway and have wonderful visits. Mike is well known for his taste for rum, but it is not just any rum, which I did not realize initially. It had to be white and it couldn’t be Bacardi. We had drinks with Mike and Dianne just a few days before he was admitted into the hospital. We all thought that he had recovered from his bout of “pneumonia”, just in time for Christmas. It was great to visit, but little did we know what was going to happen next.

I asked Jan to describe Mike as a person. Her response was first and foremost, a family man; devoted husband to Dianne, devoted father to Angela and Alena and devoted papa to his four cherished grand-children, Ashlyn, Grayson, Samantha and Taylor. He was always loving, giving and supportive. He was also very hard-working, generous and kind to both family and friends, but he also knew how to relax. He loved his time at the lake, especially since his retirement; fishing, swimming and as we have heard today, friends and just visiting. His illness really took us all by surprise and how quickly it progressed was even more surprising, even shocking. We also grieve with Dianne and her family.

We thoroughly enjoyed our times with Mike, and especially our visits on our deck when he was home in the summer months. I really came to depend on Mike. He gave me a sense of confidence that we could deal with anything around our home. We miss Mike, and I will think of him every time I am faced with a challenge; what would Mike do? Our consolation is that still have Dianne. He died much too young and he went much too quickly, but he will not be forgotten. We are privileged to have known him, and he will always be with us, in our hearts and memories, forever.

Sincerely, Reuben and Jan.

What’s in a name - Uncle Victor Hargraves

Michael Mychan

Husband

Father

Papa

Brother

Twin

Friend

Fisherman

The general

Big Mike

Michael wore all of these names and wore them with pride, responsibility, and respect.

He bore the weight of these names as well.

If you interpret weight as a burden you would never know it!

If it was a weight at all it was a weight of love as Mike was a loving caring man

As a husband he chose to preserve his relationship through love and emotion and Dianne made his commitment effortless.

As a father he provided as a father should, with love and always a smile and fatherly advice.

As a papa he embraced the grand kids with that same love and affection.

We all saw it.

As a brother and a twin Mike was always there to lend a hand or give words of advice.

As friend, what can be said? We all leaned on Mike for his friendship. In return he would help with projects big or small. HE COULDN’T HELP HIMSELF. Some projects he even initiated knowing it would improve your quality of life at the lake. Regardless how much it cost you.

“Hey Mike do you have __?” He had an amazing array of tools and supplies. In that arsenal he had horse shoes and we’d spend many hours on Hillbilly beach getting our asses handed to us with his TSN shot of the game.

As the fisherman Mike just loved to fish. He’d take the grandkids out fishing nearly every day. After the kids fished to their hearts content he’d take out a buddy or two. Always catching and cleaned every fish with pride.

The General was a nickname he got because he was the go to guy for projects or to bounce an idea off of. The greatest aspect of this name and man which defined him was if he heard a power tool or the distant hammering of nails it wasn’t long before you’d hear “what’s you doing making all this noise?” Mike would usually stay until the project you started was completed. Some took hours or days and others took weeks.

Big Mike, Big Man, Big Heart. He will leave a big void in our hearts but also fond memories that will never leave us.

From Darrel and Pam

A couple highlight stories from the McLeod family about Mike:

• Darrell and Mike worked together for about 19 years at Robin Hood. They got to know each other and shared stories about their lives outside of work – their families, their projects, fishing – of the fish Mike caught and the fish Darrell didn’t catch.

• When we built our house – we moved in – but had no deck or shed – and Darrell wasn’t even sure how to start. But he knew Mike could and had built almost everything. So, he asked Mike’s help with the deck. We have one of the solidest decks in Stonebridge – its 13 years old and looks better than some new decks. Mike knows how to build to last.

• Then – it was time for a shed. Mike built sheds 8 feet tall – because that’s the length of the board – you aren’t cutting anything off – and you aren’t wasting any wood. But – in a new area – and ours being the first houses – an 8 foot tall shed would look like a grain elevator. There was a lot of discussion and negotiating between Darrell and Mike – but, after a couple white rums – they eventually got on the same page – and the shed was only 7 feet. Mike shook his head about the wasted materials – it just didn’t make sense to him.

• When our kids were young Mike and Dianne rented their cabin to us for a week every summer. We had the opportunity to get to know all of the “Hillbilly Beach Crew”. Mike and Dianne shared stories of the good times and the memories with everyone there. Mike always shared the tubes, fishing gear – anything to help us make great memories with our kids. And it was evident by the toys and games at the cabin – that Mike and Dianne had made amazing memories with their children and grandchildren there.

• The last summer at Mike and Dianne’s cabin – Darrell and Johnny put our old boat in the water on Monday morning – and the steering wouldn’t work. The boat sat in the driveway for the week – until Mike came up on Friday. Darrell told him what happened – and Mike said “let’s take a look.” He opened it up and as Darrell thought the steering cable was seized. Of course Mike knew what to do. They cut the old one off – and Mike, Grayson and Darrell went to Candle Lake to look for parts at the boat shop. They found what they needed and headed back to the cabin. With Mike giving Darrell instructions the boat was fixed and ready to go. That’s the kind of guy Mike was – giving up his vacation time to help someone else out.

We are grateful for the memories of Mike and the memories Mike helped us create with our kids – ice fishing with Darrell and Johnny, giving Darrell directions to the best fishing spots on Candle Lake – which helped our daughter catch her first fish – and visits and storytelling.

Thank you, Mike, - we will miss you.