Michael John Trask

Mike and his family moved many times throughout southern Ontario living in Hamilton, Lucknow, Chatham, Sarnia, and London.

Mike spent many hours reading as a child and adult which gave him a scientific understanding and vocabulary unlike most other people. In high school he was active with the school science club and served as a student Rep for a portion of the student body representing approximately 180 students. Mike graduated from Saunders Secondary School in London, Ontario in 1974.

After high school, Mike became a salesman first selling shoes and then selling sewing machines becoming one of the top salesmen for Singer.

The call of the West happened in the late 1970s, and Mike moved to British Columbia with his twin brother, Pat. Mike and his brother relished the opportunity to explore the wilds of this wonderful province. Calling upon his map reading skills, which he learned in Scouts Canada, Mike became a surveyor and draughtsman for the British Columbia Department of Highways, first surveying throughout the Cariboo, he later accepted a move to the Comox Valley in the mid 1980s. Working out of the Courtenay office, he attained the title of science technical officer for the north half of Vancouver Island.

Soon after moving to the area, he started exploring the fossils found in local riverbeds. In November 1988, while fossil collecting with his daughter Heather on the Puntledge River they discovered the fossilized remains of an 85-million-year-old elasmosaur.

This fossil was the first of its kind found West of the Canadian Rockies. Through work by many, with national and international scientists, volunteers, the Courtenay and District Museum, specialists and more, the elasmosaur has recently been shown to be a new genus and species. Mike’s discovery boosted public awareness of BC’s rich paleontological history and promoted the idea of important palaeontological finds remaining in regional museums when possible. In 2023, the British Columbia Legislature accepted the Puntledge elasmosaur as the Provincial Fossil of British Columbia.

Aligned with his interest in science and natural history was Mike’s love of the great outdoors. He was an accomplished mountaineer and hiker, often away on weekends, he would visit such locations as Marble Meadows, Comox Glacier and other hard-to-reach destinations.

He was an active member of Search and Rescue. Mike was also a founding member of the Vancouver Island Paleontological Society, a director at large for the British Columbia Palaeontological Alliance and a member of the Geologic Association of Canada. Mike wrote the first code of ethics for fossil collection for the province of British Columbia. These ethics have been adopted by the provincial government regarding ethical fossil collection in the province.

Mike spent many more days carrying out scientific research here in the Comox Valley, such as mapping the weir stakes in Comox estuary, biostratigraphy of the Puntledge and Browns Rivers and other important research with world renowned scientists who accepted him as one of their own.

Mike also enjoyed music, especially the Big Band sound. As a youth, he watched Lawrence Welk with his grandmother on Sundays. In high school, he joined the school band and learned to play the clarinet. He kept playing that clarinet throughout his life. He really thought he was good at it.

Mike passed away peacefully at home in Union Bay on May 15, 2025.

Mike is pre-deceased by his father, John (Jack) Trask and mother Frances Trask, daughter, Heather Trask and partner Betty Boose. He is survived by his brothers Pat, Stephen and Paul, daughters, Sarah and Crystal and grandchildren Jaden, Tristan, Lucas, Marbaya, and Rose.

A celebration of life will be held on Sunday June 1, 1:30 pm at the Courtenay and District Museum 207 Fourth Street Courtenay. Everyone is welcome.