Obituary of Michael Kurt Bauer

October 28, 1974 – Winnipeg, Manitoba

December 9, 2022– Calgary, Alberta

Mike Bauer, beloved husband of Meara Angen, of Calgary, AB passed away on Friday, December 9, 2022, at the age of 48 years after an 11-month journey with cancer. He embraced this chapter, as he did everything in his life, with great strength, determination, and a deceptive easy grace.

Mike was a charming gentleman with a winning smile and a very kind heart. He was always looking out for the needs of others and ready to lend a playful or helping hand. Mike had a way of making everyone he came into contact with feel seen, heard, and special.

Born in Winnipeg in 1974 to Monika and Kurt Bauer, first-generation immigrants from Germany, Mike has one sibling, his sister Sonja Bauer. He is remembered by his mother as a happy and easy-going boy with a mischievous streak, always looking for a way to tease or take his family by surprise.

Mike took a degree in Engineering from the University of Manitoba and moved to Calgary, becoming employed as a mechanical engineer. He was proud of his work and could point out many buildings in Alberta that he and his teams were involved in (e.g., MacKimmie Tower, Aurora and Crowsnest Hall, Edmonton Federal Building, Banff Gondola, Calgary Cancer Centre).

Mike’s daughters remember him with great love as a wonderful and unconditionally loving Dad. His willingness to engage in games and play with them was greatly valued by them. He took great joy in having them with him, and they loved his ability to make every moment fun.

With his relationship to Meara, Mike began a new chapter in his life full of active adventures - they ran, cycled, skied, and hiked together as often as they could. They both loved to travel and managed many trips (Whitefish, San Diego, Zion Park, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, and Mexico, just to name a few) in their time together. His daily "Good Morning Beautiful!" to Meara, and her unwavering support and dedication to Mike through their time together and his illness are a testament to the strength of their love.

Mike was a man of many talents - an avid hockey player, tennis player, truly any sport or activity, fisherman, handyman, and perfectionist. Mike would walk into a room and fill it with smiles, laughter, and positive energy. He was a big kid at heart, always ready to play, sing and connect with everyone and anyone on their level. He was genuinely up for anything and often tried to pack more activities in a day than there was time for.

To the last day, despite significant and terribly difficult to manage pain, Mike could still find it in him to offer his charming smile to his family and to the staff at hospice. In one last effort at mischievousness, Mike asked the hospice staff to give him a goatee shave - "to surprise my family" he told them and laughed.

Mike was loved deeply and will be greatly missed by his partner of ten (spouse of five) years, Meara Angen, his two daughters, Clarissa and Ashlyn; his mother Monika Bauer, and sister Sonja Bauer. As well, all Meara's family are very sorry to lose such a wonderful, good-hearted, and playful son/brother-in-law/uncle. His many friends are also saddened to lose such a good friend and a kind and generous man. Mike’s love for his wife, daughters, family, and friends shined in the way he lived his life. The world will not be the same without Mike in it.

We will especially miss the playfulness and joy Mike brought to the world. He - with a big smile and even bigger heart - spent hours last Christmas pulling his four-year-old nephew up the tobogganing hill long after everyone else went inside for cocktail hour.

That charming smile Mike! Your playful big heart! We all miss you dearly already.

As per Mike’s wishes, a small Celebration of Life will be held in the summer. The family asks that if friends so desire, memorial tributes may be made directly to the Rosedale Hospice (#1245 – 70 Avenue S.E., Calgary, AB T2H 2X8 Telephone: (403) 284 – 5195) where Mike received wonderful care in his final weeks.

The family would be grateful if you would please share memories and photos here if you would like.

In living memory of Michael Bauer, a tree will be planted in the Ann & Sandy Cross Conservation Area by McInnis & Holloway Funeral Homes, Chapel of the Bells, 2720 Centre Street North, Calgary, AB T2E 2V6, Telephone: 403-243-8200.