Michael "Mike" Herbert Wallace

A genuine sense of humor, kind and patient, a pleasure to work with, loving and caring, well written and spoken, charming, a beautiful smile and stunning blue eyes. These are some of the many words to describe him.

Mike was born in Toronto, Ontario at the Toronto General Hospital Private Patients Pavilion on March 7, 1936. His parents were Frances Edward Wallace and Alice Madelaine(Kennedy) Wallace.

As the youngest of six children - Murray, Betty, Colleen, Jack, and Gerry - Mike had many experiences. Betty and Colleen thought Mike was their own personal doll. Since Mike had the older siblings he did not talk very early - they did the talking for him. Jack and Gerry taught and shared many sports with Mike such as baseball, tennis, etc. Murray, who became an Air Canada pilot shared his love of airplanes and flying with Mike.

He attended St. James Catholic School for his elementary years. He also served as an Alter Boy at the church the family attended.

Mike won a scholarship to De La Salle High School for his first year and he went on to finish high school at De La Salle. During his years in high school Mike belonged to the Catholic Youth Organization where he met and started dating Valerie Howard.

Mike's first job in 1955 was with British Petroleum in the mail room and he went on to work his way up to project manager in IT

British Petroleum was bought out by Gulf Canada Resources in 1968 and Mike went to work with them. Then Gulf Canada Resources was bought by Petro-Canada in 1983 and Mike moved on to work with Petro-Canada.

In a career that spanned 35+ years Mike worked in the oil and gas industry. As a Systems Analyst and then in the downstream business primarily involved with marketing and distribution systems.

In July 1959 Mike married Valerie Howard. They had three sons - Michael Gregory, May 5, 1960; Robert Hugh, July 17, 1961; and Kerry Christopher, December 20, 1968.

During his years working with Gulf Canada Resources Mike took evening classes at York University and earned his Bachelor of Arts Degree in 1975. Working days, attending school in the evenings and raising three wonderful sons kept Mike very busy. Though, he still managed to curl in the Gulf Curling League at Avonlea and was the Leagues most successful 'secret Newsletter editor'. Mike loved to write and was an excellent artist.

Mike became an avid golfer over the years and spent many hours on golf courses with family and friends. Also when Kerry was younger, he and Mike spent some weekends in Mosport watching motor bike racing.

Valerie and Mike separated in 1985 and Petro-Canada transferred Mike to Calgary, AB in May 1986.

Once settled in Calgary, Mike spent many weekends and holidays with his sister Colleen and her husband Bill and their families. Especially at the cottage at Pigeon Lake, AB.

On Christmas in 1986 Mike's niece Cathy and her husband Morris gave Mike a back scratcher and Cathy said 'Sorry Uncle Mike, but we did not know what to buy a bachelor uncle". Mike replied 'What about a bachelor aunt". Colleen and Cathy put their heads together and said what about Sharon(who was divorced from Morris' brother). Mike always loved to tell this story.

Mike and Sharon had their first date December 27, 1986 at the Rose and Crown in Edmonton..

Mike lived in Calgary and Sharon lived in Edmonton. Mike spent his time working in Calgary or Toronto during the week and in Edmonton on the weekends getting to know Sharon and her family for the next few years. Sharon has three children - Denise(husband Dean), Darren and Shawn. When he was in Toronto working Mike would spend his evenings with his sons Greg and Kerry. Hugh had moved to Inverness, Cape Breton to be with his girlfriend and their son.

Mike had a heart attack in April 1988. He was working in Toronto at that time. They gave him TPA and there was little or no damage to his heart. When he returned to Alberta he had angioplasty on several of his arteries.

It was decided that Sharon and Shawn(who was 13) would relocate to Calgary to be with Mike.

In December of 1989, Petro-Canada retired Mike.

In February of 1990 Mike went to work with Shell Canada as a consultant on their Distribution System. He had helped design a similar system at Gulf Canada and Petro-Canada. He worked at Shell until 1998.

On October 6, 1990 Mike and Sharon married. They now had a blended family of six children - Greg, Hugh, Kerry, Denise, Darren and Shawn. and Mike had one grandchild - Hugh Jr.

In 1998 Mike left Shell Canada and went to work with Keane Consulting on the Y2K project at Canadian Pacific Railway.

Mike and Sharon moved to High River, AB in 2001. Mike retired from the work force in 2002.

Mike was involved with the Petro-Canada Alumni organization. He was the Social Coordinator for many years and thoroughly enjoyed planning social outings for the Alumni and spending time with many of his colleagues that he had worked with over the years.

Mike loved to travel whether it be for work or play. Mike and Sharon spent many vacations over the years traveling across Canada and into the U.S.A. Visiting Mike's sons Greg(Janet) and granddaughter Holly and Kerry(Joanne) and granddaughter Kristal in Toronto. At times they would also visit with Mike's friends from when he was growing up.

Another destination was Inverness, Cape Breton to visit Hugh(Eydie) and his three grandsons Hugh JR, Blake and Jesse. In later years to visit Hugh(Maureen) Maureen's girls Karen(2 great granddaughters) and Alison in Antigonish, Nova Scotia.

Denise(Dean), Stephanie and Keaton in Edmonton, Calgary, Christina Lake and Vernon, BC.

Darren(Donna), Janaya, Chantelle and Mason in Fort St John, BC and in later years in Red Deer, AB. Janaya(Seth) have three children - Kaeden, Serenity and Ethaniel.

Shawn lived with Mike and Sharon until 2005 at which time he moved to Calgary to be with Wendy. They have two children Emily and Morgan.

As Mike loved any kind of car racing he loved to spend time at the drag races with Sharon's stepson Ken Sitko and his family.

Kapulani Kai in Kehei on Maui, Hawaii became a favorite destination for them as well.

They traveled to New York to visit Mike's sister Betty and her daughter Carolyn. They also visited Richmond, Virginia when Betty lived there.

They visited California where another of Mike's nieces Coco(Bob) lived and Las Vegas where his nephew Scott(Renee) lived. Mike golfed with Bob and Scott in each place.

Mike and Sharon drove to most of these places so they ended up seeing a lot of Canada and the U.S.A..

Skiing was another past time Mike took up after moving west. Many Christmas holidays were spent going on ski vacations with Sharon and her family.

From 2005 to 2013 Mike had two mini strokes that left him with no peripheral vision and his short term memory was not very good. In January of 2013 he had some angina and after a stress test it was decided that Mike needed some angioplasty. They were not able to clear one of his arteries that was 95% blocked and by-pass surgery was needed. The surgery was successful but five days later he had a severe stroke that left his left side and his core paralyzed. In August 2013 Mike was moved to the Long Term Care Facility in High River hospital. He did regain movement in his arms, hands and some speech. During all of this he retained his sense of humor and wonderful smile.

During these hard times, Mike's dedicated and loving wife, stuck by his side. There was rarely a day when Sharon wasn't with him while he was in the hospital.

Mike passed away January 13, 2015 from another severe stroke.

Mike is missed greatly everyday by his wife, family and friends. He was a vibrant presence and character in all the lives of those who knew and loved him.

* * * * * * * * * *

It is with great sadness we announce the passing of Mike, who died peacefully at High River General Hospital Continuing Care.

Mike was the beloved husband of Sharon and loving father of Greg, Hugh, Kerry, Denise, Darren, and Shawn. He was the adored grandfather of fourteen grandchildren and five great-grandchildren. Mike is also survived by his loving sister, Colleen, and will be remembered by his many nieces, nephews, and friends. Mike will be fondly remembered by many for his kindness, sense of humor and charm. He was born and raised in Toronto and relocated to Calgary in 1986. Mike's career was with B.A. Petroleum, Gulf Petroleum, retiring with Petro Canada. After retirement, Mike was actively involved with the Petro Canada Alumni.

Those wishing to pay their respects may do so at a Visitation held at FOSTER'S GARDEN CHAPEL 3220 4 Street N.W., Calgary (across from Queen's Park Cemetery) on Tuesday, January 20, 2015 from 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. A Celebration of Mike's Life will be held at FOSTER'S GARDEN CHAPEL on Wednesday, January 21, 2015 at 2:00 p.m. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made directly to the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Alberta, Suite 100, 119 – 14 Street N.W., Calgary, AB T2N 1Z6 or on-line at www.heartandstroke.ca. or the Canadian Diabetes Association, 1400 - 522 University Ave, Toronto, ON M5G 2R5. Expressions of sympathy may be forwarded to the family via the website www.fostersgardenchapel.ca.

FOSTER'S GARDEN CHAPEL FUNERAL HOME AND CREMATORIUM.

Telephone: 403-297-0888.

Honoured Provider of Dignity Memorial.