Miles William Degroote

Miles William DeGroote passed away on September 6th at the age of six after injuries sustained in a fall. This loss was completely unexpected and has left our family and community devastated by the sudden absence of such a vibrant personality.

Even from birth, Miles was on the move. He couldn’t wait to join the party so he was born in a truck on the way to the hospital in Orillia, Ontario on August 26th, 2019. He liked to say that he “nerf gunned his way out”. His parents, Caitlin and Devin, big sister, Skye, and extended family of grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins welcomed him with open arms. Not long after Miles was born, the family moved to Vancouver Island where he met the many friends and neighbours that would surround him as he grew.

Miles was full of life. He would wake up every morning (grumpy to start) pretending to be whatever type of baby animal that he’d just seen on Wild Kratts. After that, he would seek out his mom for a ten-minute mandatory cuddle, then immediately start jumping around, doing karate moves and cracking jokes.

Miles loved to tell jokes. Sometimes they included bad words and swear words, but his timing was so good that we would laugh anyways (reminding him to please not say these things in public). He made us all laugh every day.

He often told his mom that she was his best friend. Reading together was one of their favourite things to do. So many days, they would just lie together reading a whole Cat Kid Comic Club or Dog Man. One time, as she cuddled Miles to fall asleep, he grabbed her face and said, “Mom, I can’t go to sleep yet because I just can’t stop looking at you, I love you too much.”

Miles was an adventure seeker. He loved biking (anything with wheels, really) and was always so excited to go off on adventures or build things with his dad. Miles and his dad were like two peas in a pod as they built Lego together, went off to the bike park or flew off on an expedition in a plane or helicopter. Miles looked up to his dad and was up for any activity he proposed.

He loved his sister, Skye. When they were younger, Miles would just copy whatever she did or said. Though they are so different, they got each other. As they grew older, the dynamic could be tricky as Miles would bug Skye just to get a reaction. But when they were in “their world” of play or chit chatting about their lives, the love was felt. He had her back and she had his.

Miles loved all of his teachers and friends at his school, Deep Cove Elementary. He was very excited about starting Grade One and learning how to read. His absence will be felt by the entire community.

He loved to dance and had excellent rhythm. We danced a lot together and now like to picture him dancing in the sky looking down at all the people he loved. Words cannot capture how much we love Miles and we will miss him every second of every day.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to Beacon Community Services.