Michael D Mason

Michael (Mike) Mason, 47, of Maumee, Ohio—musician, artist, nature-lover, devoted family member, and loyal friend—passed away on July 29, 2014. We mourn the earthly loss and embrace the life eternal of our beloved Michael, a wise, cool man of unwavering kindness, peace, selflessness, and compassion. In his life, as well as in his dying, he revealed a fiercely bright light of love housed in his heart, which is now deposited in ours to carry always. He has touched our lives deeply. Michael was a gifted artist who traipsed with ease through the fields of music and art. His musical talent was recognized at a young age and was cultivated throughout his life: He played guitar beginning at age eleven; he wrote, co-wrote, and recorded original music; and he performed in several musical groups in and around the area. One of Michael’s most joy-filled ways of spending time was music-making in fellowship with some of his best friends, talented musicians themselves. The blues was where Michael felt his artistic soul most at home. Michael was equally at home in the visual arts. His collection of oil, acrylic, watercolor, and mixed-media paintings and drawings ranges in style from photorealism to abstraction and attest his ability to move effortlessly between various forms and styles. Besides painting and drawing, Michael produced pieces in the media of woodworking, found/assemblage art, paper, book binding, children’s book illustration, and photography. Michael often gifted his family and friends with his original works. A self-proclaimed student of life, Michael considered our universe an immense and perfect work of creation and our planet a most beautiful rendition of it. Thus it is that Michael was also a nature-lover and journeyer. He very much loved trees, rivers, fishing, walking, mountains, forests, animals, all four seasons, and the sky. Michael found immense freedom in being on the road, and his travels took him twice to Alaska and at various times to America’s great west. He kept notebooks and wrote incredibly thoughtful letters and poetry. Born March 10, 1967, in Houston, Texas, Michael graduated from Maumee High School in 1985. He attended The Cleveland Institute of Art under scholarship to study painting and drawing and received a Bachelor of Arts from Siena Heights University’s Visual and Performing Arts and Education program in 2007. He worked in graphic design, sign design, home renovation, landscaping, and construction. Michael loved sports and was a Cleveland Browns fan, and he enjoyed attending musical concerts and spending time with and caring for his family. Michael is survived by his mother, Carol, of Maumee, OH; brother Mark of Maumee, OH; sister Marcia (Joseph) Camino of Lakewood, OH; sister Marjorie (fiancé Bobby Gladon) Frank of Cleveland, OH; nephews Jarrett and Kyle; as well as aunts, uncles, cousins, and his close friends Sean Divine of Seattle, WA; Tony Shutters of Maumee, OH; and Jeff Snyder of Albuquerque, NM. A memorial service celebrating Michael’s life will take place on Saturday, August 2, 2014, at the Maison-Dardenne-Walker Funeral Home; 501 Conant Street; Maumee, OH 43537. Visitors will be received beginning at 10:00 a.m. with a service starting at 11:00. Anyone wishing to contribute in Michael’s memory is asked to consider the Foundation for Thymic Cancer Research; 6 Cold Spring Court; Mount Kisco, NY 10549. (www.thymic.org). A deep bow of gratitude goes to the Hospice of Northwest Ohio for their comforting, professional, and compassionate presence assisting Michael and us in the final stages of this part of his unending journey. Michael once summed up his life vision like this: When asked to provide a definition of art, he stated, “Art. A.R.T. All Real Things. Everything good—all of this—is art.” Online condolences may be shared at walkerfuneralhomes.com