Mr. Michael John Haras

Mike was many people in his lifetime, a brother to his beloved sister Diane, an identical twin to his brother David, a loving, caring helpful dedicated son to his parents Hazel and Michael. A husband, a soul mate to Evelyn – a devoted father to his girls Corinna and Sherri, a Grandad of the highest order to his beloved Skye, Samantha, Nicholes, Mathew and Brandon. He was Uncle Mike to his twin nieces Tina and Tammy, as well as uncle to nieces Tracy and Cindy. His nephews Vincent and Kelly also had a special place in Uncle Mike’s heart. Mike was a great-uncle as well to two nieces and three nephews.

Mike Haras was a man who made friends easily and friendships with Mike were everlasting. His friend Jere Young as well as friends Jerry and Judy Melanson can attest to that for they have shared many, many years together as family at heart.

Mike, even as a very young boy has shown as unusually strong dedication and devotion to family. He used to go out and shovel sidewalks in the winter and cut grass in the summer and then come home and share his earnings with his brother David. Mike Haras has always carried within him a light of love and light of life that he shared generously with others. In recognition of Mike’s light of life Corinna and Sherri shall light candles honoring Mike as their father and as a Grandad to their children, Evelyn shall light a candle to honor Mike’s memory as a soul mate and best friend. Diane’s candle honors the relationship she shared with Mike as his only sister and David’s candle shall be in recognition of life shared as twins, a unique bond of self and selflessness that only there two brothers can understand. The light of these memorial candles will forever signify the warmth of friendship, and the loving bond that each of you have shared with Mike, and they shall also be a symbol of life beyond life, for the bond of family that you all shared is unseverable – even by Death – and we know that now Mike will be one of those Angels among us.

Mike Haras, was a native Calgarian who never had any desire to leave Calgary – he was a person who liked to be able to look across to the West and see the mountains in the foothills – and begin planning his next camping trip or dirt bike adventure.

Mike was a man who put his whole heart and soul into everything he did. He was a hard working person all his life – he went from earning money doing odd jobs as a kid to working for the City of Calgary. He was a loyal and highly valued employee for 34 years at the Bonnybrook Waste Water Treatment Plant as an Operator 3. During his years there he made many friendships that lasted until his passing.

Mike was as reliable a man and an employee as he was a friend and family man. We are here today to reflect more on Mike as a friend and man of family than as an employee. Mike has left behind him a legacy- in his love and appreciation for the outdoors, for his love of nature – Mike was never more at home than when he was out camping particularly at his most beloved spot, Waiparous. To him it was God’s country made for man to enjoy and explore. If they couldn’t be at Waiparous then Jere’s cabin on Ghost Lake was the next favored gathering spot. Mike was a man’s man in that he enjoyed all the masculine outdoor activities like hunting, fishing, boating, dirt biking, riding skidoos and quads – any outdoor toy or activity was fine by Mike. Many men enjoy their outdoor pursuits with their male friends mostly but not Mike. To him, it was a time for family, for everyone to have a good time. He absolutely loved taking his kids, his nieces, nephews and his brother, grandkids, anyone’s kids, out camping. And I heard the other night that those times were as special to his family as they were to Mike. They all have hundreds of cherished memories and photos of times spent camping together. The hunting trips, now those were male bonding times mostly and we may hear more about those later from his friend Jerry. Evelyn told me about how she always made sure to prepare lots of good meals to send with Mike and his buddies when they went hunting because they’d need them since they never really shot anything while hunting. There were a few pheasants and ducks here and there but that’s about it. When I asked Mikes’ brother David if he hunted too he said yes –as unsuccessfully as Mike- The hunting trips sometimes ended up being quite costly as well, like the time the truck got bogged down and the jack tore up into places it shouldn’t go. Part of the problem with hunting was luck was not on their side. If they had a tag for mule deer they’d only see white tail, or if they had a tag for a buck, they’d only find does- but they never gave up. They would hunt all day and go back to camp and feast on what Evelyn had sent. Diane told me it was probably best they didn’t get any big game as Mike and David were both unprepared to process the kill anyway. Several people commented that probably the reason they didn’t get bigger game was that they were really a little too kind to kill something like that. Never the less, the hunting trips went of year after year, the deer and moose survived and a grand time was had by all, and Evelyn dutifully went to Safeway and bought the meat for suppers.

Mike did have one very special hunting trip that he mentioned a few months ago that he’d like to do again, he took his grandson Nic out hunting for the day and they had a fabulous time together. The memory of that day was obviously a cherished one for the Grandad as I am sure it is for Nic. Mike was always up for anything with family, but if you were in Mike’s camp, you camped by the rules. Just like hunting, if you had a tag for one thing you didn’t take anything else. In Mike’s camp you left the site better and cleaner than you found it. It took seven hours for the Haras group to set up and take down their camp but that seemed to be part of the fun. If the dirt bikes or quads were there on one got on to ride without camp being set up and the vehicles checked out. Oiled, greased and fueled and everyone involved had their own responsibilities, even the girls were expected to know how to check and maintain everything and then after all that was checked out, you put on your helmet – Mike’s Law- and went and had fun. Sherri said she was her dad’s son. She love the bikes and quads and roaring around while Corinna liked nice quiet little trails away from the folks where she could putter along at her own pace. Mike would let Sherri take the lead often and she felt that he had confidence in her abilities, which of course was one of the ways Mike helped to build kids’ confidence in themselves. Corinna spoke of a favorite camping memory she shared with her Dad, apparently they decided to go fishing together and it started to pour. They got a couple of big garbage bags and put them on and went and sat together in the rain for the next 5 hours fishing. Dad and daughter, together, because that’s what was important! I was told that Corinna could catch, clean and cook her fish, she didn’t need anyone to do it for her. It was the most important thing to see others having fun, particularly if it was kids having fun, and they didn’t need to be his kids. Mike loved children, babes especially I was told. He love the smell of babies, he loved to hold them and he’d even wake them up to play with them, much against their mom’s wishes sometimes, but he just had to hold them and love them.

When Mike was a young teen his parents took in foster children. Often ones that had special medical challenges and Mike and David would just pitch in changing diapers, bathing and dressing the little ones. Even after their Mom passed away at 55 they continued to help their Dad who still had several foster children at home. Family, that was always the most involving important thing in life. In spite of the fact that Mike worked shift work he was able to spend time with the girls. He’d often have days off during the week so he’d make a point of going to the girls’ schools on his motorcycle and take them for lunch. Totally cool for them!

As the girls got into their teens the camping trips were not as important to them so things slacked off for awhile but once the grandkids began arriving Mike had to start all over teaching the next generation about the outdoor world he loved so much. He taught them how to use an axe and chainsaw and how to put out the fire properly and hang the tarps. And he taught them how to appreciate the backcountry for the beauty that was there and he taught them all the same toys and rules that he’d had for all the other kids over the years.

Mike Haras was a man of passions. He loved his kids with a passion, he had a passion for taking pictures and videos of camping trips and family out together and he had a passion for the outdoors. Being in God’s country. Mike was not a man you’d see in a front row pew on Sunday morning, he was a man you’d see out in the wilderness in the forest or by a crystal clear stream. Celebrating Nature’s wondrous gifts. Mike was a man who had a belief in God but his beliefs were his own, and private, yet he lived his life by ‘the rules’. He honored his parents, he loved and nurtured and guided his children, he taught love and devotion to family and taught love for the world around him.

We are all here today to offer our sympathy and support to Mike’s family, but we have come especially to honor a Dad, Grandad, Soul mate, Brother and friend.

When I met with Mike’s family the other day it was obvious that this man, this gentle soul who loved babies, children and his family, his grandchildren and siblings has been a remarkable inspiration to those around him. Mike was the center of everybody’s life. Not because he demanded to be, but because he gave tirelessly, he spoiled his kids and grandkids and he was to them, larger than life. He only ever asked for one thing in return – not to die alone – and his family granted his last wish as they gathered around him with loving devotion to say thanks. Thanks for the unending love, for the fun, the wisdom, the devotion. You’ll never be forgotten and you shall be dearly missed by everyone including the grandogs Otis and Simba.

Thanks for the memories – We Love You!