Mike Muise
Muise, Joseph Michael « Mike » of Antigonish passed
away on January 9, 2020, in St. Martha’s Regional Hospital,
Antigonish.
Born in New Waterford, he was the seventh child of Joseph and
Sophie (Deveaux) Muise.
After graduating from St. Francis Xavier University in 1965,
Mike joined CUSO and was posted to Mombasa, Kenya, where he met the
love of his life, Yvette, of Goan descent. Mike taught Math at the
Sacred Heart Goan High School for two years, and his students from
there still fondly remember their wonderful teacher from Canada who
touched their lives for a brief time.
After their marriage in Mombasa in 1968, Mike and Yvette
moved back to Canada and spent their first year in New Waterford as
teachers, from whence they moved to Antigonish in 1969 and taught at
the John Hugh Gillis Regional High School, retiring in 1998 and 2001
respectively. Mike loved Antigonish and his alma mater St. Francis
Xavier University and the Coady Institute, welcoming the international
students, particularly from Kenya, India, and Nigeria, to their
home. Together with Yvette, they wanted to make them feel at
home for they both had learnt firsthand what it was to be a stranger
in a strange land.
Mike Muise is survived by his wife of 51 years, Yvette de
Souza – Muise, and their children Dr. Aleixo (Dr.
Debra Stein) and children, Joseph and Rachel, Toronto; Anna Marie
(David Lewis) and children, Mikaela and Sophia, Ottawa; and Joseph
(Kelly MacDonald) and children, Patrick and Heather, Vancouver.
Mike is also survived by his siblings, Wilfred
‘Yogi’ (Joanie MacKenzie), New Waterford; Rose
Longley, Middleton; Delphin, Margaree; Betty Ann (Angus MacEachern),
Howie Centre; Jim (Chris Corbett), Guysborough; and numerous nephews
and nieces; as well as Yvette’s siblings, Ben and Betty de
Souza; Annabella and Alec Fernandes; Jerome and Ann de Souza; and
Rhoda da Costa.
Besides his parents, he is
predeceased by his parents-in-law, Aleixo and Laurie de Souza;
brother, Medric; and sisters, Mary (Paddy) Carrigan and Theresa (John
Joe) LeVert.
Visitation will be held Tuesday from 2 to 4 and 7 to 9pm in
C.L. Curry Funeral Home, 135 College Street, Antigonish. Mass of
Christian Burial will take place on Wednesday at 11:00am at St. Ninian
Cathedral, Antigonish, with Reverend Donald MacGillivray
presiding. Burial in the parish cemetery at a later
date.
In Memoriam, donations may be made to the St. Vincent de Paul
Society.
A LAST FAREWELL:
My dearest darling
Mike, saying ‘Farewell’ is the hardest thing
we’ve ever had to do. Words cannot fill the void your
departure to heaven has enveloped us in. God has taken you home as our
special ‘Magi’ to see the Infant Jesus at this
2020 Feast of the Epiphany, just as He had guided the Three Maji to
Bethlehem some 2000 years ago. You have answered a Divine Command, and
we, your family sadly acquiesce with the Divine Plan, just as you did,
my dearest Mike.
Your so-sudden departure,
due to a single major heart attack, has shocked and broken all our
hearts as you are remembered as a most wonderful husband, father,
grandfather, brother, friend, math teacher, coach, and volunteer
par excellence.
As a scholar and educator, with your BA; BEd; and
MA-Education, you were an outstanding mathematician and a revered
teacher. Your peers chose you as Head of the Math department
at the John Hugh Gillis Regional High School, and you loved your
entire Math department throughout your teaching career, and they loved
you, too, as did all your students who sing your praises to this day.
And, you played a vital role in the NSTU for many years. Kudos to you,
Mike, many accolades came your way from all corners of Nova Scotia,
and you remained the same wonderful husband, father, grandfather,
teacher, and friend forever. Bless you.
One of your students, the now acclaimed Bruce
MacKinnon, immortalized you in a couple of his artistic
caricatures in his early drawings as a Math teacher and as a soccer
coach at the Dr.J.H.Gillis High School, where you introduced soccer
when the school first opened in the early 1970’s. They were
amongst your treasured accolades.
Your proficiency as a sportsman in soccer, badminton,
softball, curling, golfing, and swimming have not gone unnoticed.
Added to this, your faithful commitment to fitness executed daily at
the St. F.X. gym and pool over a period of fifty years has more than
impressed us all, and your commitment to the St. Vincent De Paul
Society is outstanding.
As treasurer of the SVDP Society, you spent many loving hours
in your retirement, writing cheques, paying bills, and keeping
meticulous records of all transactions, year after year, for the past
ten years or more. You dedicated your retirement years as a champion
of the poor, and for that you are much-loved and admired. Your family
knows just how much honour you felt to have been assigned such an
important role in SVDP.
Mike, you will be forever missed and loved by everyone who
got to know you. You did us all proud. You were the most kind, gentle,
and loving soul we ever knew, and what was most wonderful was your
positive take on everything, manifesting itself in hilarious jokes
that were appreciated by all who knew you. Thank you, Mike, for being
you. We love you.
Mike, you loved your grandchildren Mikaela, Sophia, Joseph,
Rachel, Patrick, and Heather, and they adored you. The annual visits
from all of them during the summers were what touched your heart
most.
Last but by no means least, everybody felt the impact of your
most generous spirit. To you, FAMILY was of paramount importance, and
you, ever so gently, guided our children, including the children you
taught, including undying support of my St. Ninian’s
Children’s Choir for over 43 years, into being the
creme-de-la-creme of society as upstanding citizens. You set the bar
high, Mike, and you can take credit for positively influencing the
future of all who had the privilege of knowing you. Life will never be
the same without you, my dearest Mike. You never ever
thought of yourself, as you always put others first, and for this you
are known as the gentlest, kindest, most unassuming soul that it was
our honour and privilege to know and love. Mike, you were the
creme-de-la-creme. How can we ever fill the void your absence has
created?
I will end with the following quote from our much-admired
fellow teacher, Eleanor Mutimer:
« I have just received the sad news that Mike’s
lovely life has ended. Words cannot express my great shock and my
profound sorrow at the loss of such a fine human being, such a
supportive husband, such a loving and proud father and grandfather,
such a wonderful colleague and friend, such a truly gentle
man. »
Farewell my dearest Mike, and may God keep you safe in His
loving arms until we are called to be reunited with you in
Heaven.
With all our love and blessings,
Yours ever-lovingly,
Yvette, with all our family.
Online condolences: www.clcurry.com
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2020
Nos plus sincères sympathies à la famille et aux amis de Mike Muise 2020..
Décès pour la Ville: Antigonish, Province: Nova Scotia