Cove William Michaelian

The youngest of four children, Cove was born in the middle of the night during an April heat wave in Reedley, California. He was a night owl ever since. When he was six weeks old, he moved with his parents, sister, and brothers to Oregon, where the family still resides.

Cove’s life, as it turned out, wasn’t fated to be a long one. Yet measured in terms of friendship and music, his time here was rich and rewarding, and characterized by warmth, kindness, and humor. That he was on the verge of marriage makes his sudden departure all the more sad; every moment with Abigail was treasured between them, even as the beautiful future they had planned slipped through their fingers. This is everyone’s loss, and each of us is left to find meaning in it as we will, and according to our best, most patient understanding. With that understanding is the recognition that our grief is tempered by gratitude, because Cove was someone who gave joy to us all.

And so we might ask, who was this guy? Who was this self-taught musician who hitch-hiked with his guitar to San Francisco, making his mother worry and his father smile? Who was this lover of cats, this midnight singer in the living room? Who was this thoughtful giver of unique and tasteful gifts? Who was this kind helper of his dying housemate, Max, whose life was also claimed by cancer? Not some famous person. And yet within his family and circle of friends, he enjoyed what a great many famous people hunger for and never achieve: loyalty and love with no strings attached. To put it simply, Cove’s life was a life worth witnessing. Ask anyone who knew him.

We know, of course, that words are never enough. It takes time to know and appreciate someone, especially when that someone is as tender and wise as Cove. Experience tells us that those of us left behind will know him more fully with each passing year. And because of the kind of person he was, we will also better know ourselves.

Cove is survived by his fiancée, Abigail Baldwin; his parents, Bill and Denise Michaelian; his sister, Suzanne Biz Rickard; his brothers, Vahan Michaelian and Lev Michaelian; his uncles, cousins, and nephews, and numerous loving friends.

An announcement of an upcoming Celebration of Life will be shared at a later date, with plans to come together prior to the end of the year.