LAWRENCE MICHAEL FARRELL 1942 – 2022
It is with great sadness that we announce that Michael Farrell passed away on October 17, 2022, following complications from a serious accident last month. He leaves to mourn his loving wife of thirty-seven years, Regina MacDonald, and their children, Michael (Jessica), Catherine (Nathan Rolf), Claire, John, and Patrick, as well as four grandchildren, Thomas, Isabelle, John and Alexander.
Predeceased by his parents Lawrence Farrell and Margaret Richardson and his brother Stephen, he is survived by his brothers Paul (Sheila), Greg, Martin, and Dan (Faye), and his sisters Jeannette (Jack), Leslie (Pat), Angela, and Bernadette. He will be sadly missed by his many nieces and nephews, members of the extended Farrell and MacDonald families, as well as numerous lifelong friends.
Mike’s greatest joy came from his family. He often reminded people that he was the eldest of ten children because from the earliest age he was aware that others looked to him for example. However imperfectly, he strove to be someone whom his siblings would admire. He was a devoted son (and son-in-law).
Many thought he was a confirmed bachelor, but in 1985 he took the plunge and married Gina. Together they had five children. He was an exceptional husband and father who was involved in sports, Irish dancing and other activities with all the children. For many years he was a volunteer hockey coach. He was especially engaged in assuring that each child had an excellent education and that they were well prepared to launch into adulthood. In later years he enjoyed the satisfaction of seeing their successes and delighting in four grandchildren.
He was a true renaissance man. As a young man Mike worked on the railroad, teaching literacy for Frontier College. He was a truck driver in Toronto and a tour bus driver in LA. He spent a season working on an oil rig in the North Sea. He even worked briefly as a private detective. He taught school at every level, and after earning a Ph.D at UCLA, he had a career of over 40 years at Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières. He was also a strong supporter of Catholic higher education, especially Our Lady Seat of Wisdom College where he taught occasional courses and was a member of their Academic Senate.
His early education at Saint Michael’s Choir School in Toronto developed in him a lifelong love of music, both modern and classical. He enjoyed playing the piano throughout his life.
He inherited the Irish “gift of the gab” and loved to hold court on any number of subjects, especially anything political. He had also mastered the classic “Dad jokes,” and left his family groaning on a regular basis.
Mike was a faithful Catholic and his faith inspired and sustained him throughout his life. He was a disciplined and moral person. He was at once careful with a dollar and a remarkably generous man, quietly aiding several families in financial distress, without a word to anyone, as well as many smaller gestures too numerous to mention.
He was a great man, the rock of his family, and will be very deeply missed.
Donations in Michael’s memory can be sent to Our Lady Seat of Wisdom College, PO Box 249, Barry’s Bay, ON K0J 1B0, or e-transfer to donations@seatofwisdom.ca (please include name and address), or online at seatofwisdom.ca/support.
Our most sincere sympathies to the family and friends of Farrell Michael 2022..
Death notice for the town of: Montréal, Province: Quebec