Monday, December 19, 2022
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Dear Helen and family,
It was such shock to hear of Michael's sudden passing. I had known Michael since my university days at U of R and counted him among my dearest and closest friends. We met at the Bilingual Centre and he was involved in some of the activities of the Summer Language Program, run then under the guidance of Dr. Bernard Wilhelm. I brought him into the planning of the Royal Visit (Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip in 1978) for the purpose of planning the trip to Yorkton on the train - at the time he was part of Transport 2000 - an organization in place for the purpose of encouraging train travel. He succeeded me as Director of Protocol for Saskatchewan and fulfilled the role with the greatest aplomb and competence. The number of successful Royal visits together with so many other accomplishments in an area of endeavour in which so much can go wrong (trust me, I know.. ) are proof of his adroitness in so many ways. We kept in touch over the years either when he visited Toronto or when I returned to my home province of Saskatchewan. I still remember his comforting words, by telephone, when I was visiting my mother, then in a coma in hospital in Wolseley.
My life and that of my family connected in other important ways as well: his and Helen's adoption of their daughter, Sarah Anne, led us to our adoption of our daughter Alana.
I continue to feel the loss of Michael as a friend and will greatly miss dropping in for visits when visiting in Regina.
