Our family loved Mike and still loves him, especially our youngest son, Andre.
I knew Mike most closely through is elementary and middle school years. Mike was not a “helicoptered” or “sheltered” young boy, which made him unique and special in the 2000’s and 20-teens. He was adventurous and confident and comfortable in his own skin, because he came from a great, loving family that made him feel safe and secure enough to take risks – the kind or normal physical and emotional risks that a young kid should take to learn and grow. He was a little bit out of his time, and that made a lovable kid like Mike even more lovable.
That kind of boisterous elementary school confidence leads to trust among friends. I know for a fact that my son trusted, loved, and looked up to Mike in a way that made him comfortable pushing and challenging himself, both when Mike lived in the neighborhood and after he moved to Maine. That love, confidence and energy that flowed from the Meads family also flowed through Mike and into my son, and we are so grateful for that. Andre soaked up Mike’s friendship and confidence like a sponge, and hopefully returned it to Mike.
But even with all of that positive “Mike-energy” (the best kind of spark and mischief), Mike was without question the most polite and personable kid that ever walked through our yard and our house, and there have been many. His never, ever forgotten “Thanks for having me over” (whether he stayed overnight, or six hours, or five minutes) became a such familiar sound that Carol and I used to chuckle about it. It was as familiar as the sound of the screen door closing when he left, always bounding down the front porch stairs and charging across the yard for the sidewalk back to his house.
Mike was a gift to our family, and to Andre in particular. We were grateful for him when he was with us, and even more. Mike does not need our family’s prayers but he has them, as does his family.
Joe Laplante
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Wednesday February 20, 2019
via Condolence Message