Mick was born on 26th July 1951 at 41 Gillam Street, Luton, a son of Reginald and Florrie Else, and a younger brother to John and Pat. He was a much-loved uncle to John & Shirley’s sons - Graham & Richard, and Pat & Michael’s children - Michael, Mark, and me. When he married Mary, he became a brother-in-law to her 10 siblings in County Cork, as well as an uncle to many nieces and nephews. Mick became a father to David in August 1979, and to Karen in March 1982. When Uncle John re-married, Mick gained a sister-in-law in Mary. More recently, Mick gained a son-in-law in Tyson and became a granddad to Karen & Tyson’s three sons, Joshua, Alfie & Freddie and to David’s children, Melissa & Ryan. Mick was a Great Uncle to 12 and a Great-Great Uncle to 3. He was also a stepfather to Trevor & Mark when he was married to Lesley. And not forgetting as an animal lover, he was the human guardian of Jody, Charlie, and Sandy the dogs, and Blue the cat, his beautiful and trusty companion over the last 10 years or so.

However, Mick was much more than a son, an uncle, a husband, a father, a stepfather, a father-in-law, and a granddad, and he touched many people’s lives throughout his 64 years. The huge turnout today of his extended family – his many friends from all over Watford, Bushey, North Harrow, Pinner and Headstone; his neighbours from Forfar House where he resided for the last few years; his fellow card players and drinking buddies from the local cricket club, the St John Fisher Club, and the Home Guard Club; his friends from the 4th Headstone Scout Group; and many friends of Mary, David and Karen - are all testament to that. On behalf of the family, thank you all very much for coming today, especially to those of you who have travelled a distance, or have flown in from Cork to say a fond farewell to Mick.

Mick always used to comment on how amazed he was by my long-term memory so I will try to do him justice today with one or two memories of the man we all knew and loved. So, to begin, a little of Mick’s life and work ... Mick held a variety of jobs during his life. He had helped at my Dad’s family business in a fruit and greengrocery shop in Luton while still at school and it seemed a natural progression for this to continue when he left school. He also helped my Dad with some building maintenance at both home and in the business and this developed into his enjoyment of painting and decorating. Later, he worked as a milkman with Unigate in Luton. I remember singing the Benny Hill song with him when I was little and he claimed it was he, not ‘Ernie’, who was The Fastest Milkman in the West!

When Mick met and fell in love with Mary and moved to Hatch End and later North Harrow, he also worked as a milkman and later as a postman. He obviously enjoyed being in the outdoors but I think for Mick it was also a sense of freedom and being the master of his own working hours, enabling him the time to actually talk to and engage with people. He obviously enjoyed driving and graduated from a milk float to an arctic lorry when he worked for the fruit wholesalers, Tearles of Luton. He loved his cars too – he had quite an eclectic collection over the years – my favourite would have to be his yellow Ford Zodiac with the air horn that played the tune Colonel Bogey. Michael, Mark, and I were the envy of all the kids in the village whenever Uncle Mick came to pick us up from school and played the very loud air horn as we sped off!

Mick had natural people skills and the ability to communicate with a variety of people even as a young man. He had a general sense of putting people at ease, with a shared experience, a laugh, or a joke – a real charm and charisma, and he genuinely cared about and was interested in people, and helping others whenever the opportunity arose. Needless to say, he was well liked by his customers.

Mick later used his customer contacts and young-apprenticed D-I-Y skills to good effect when he set up his own painting and decorating business. He continued with this business until his arthritis became so severe that he could no longer climb up and down ladders and do the sometimes physically challenging tasks that such work involved. After retiring, he continued to help family and friends with any D-I-Y tasks that he could manage, or acted as a Chief Advisor, a role he much enjoyed.

Some of you may have seen the informal tribute to my dear Unc on my Facebook page that I tagged to the Remembering Mick Else page. Many made comments such as “That was him to a T” and “Couldn’t add anything to that” and it is very touching that my sentiments are shared. When I told my own friends that Mick had passed away, they each said, “Mick was a lovely man, so friendly and happy and will be very much missed.” Before I bought my cottage, Mick came with me for the second viewing as my Dad was away on holiday at the time. Mick was a great source of advice of what to look for in a period property and I will never forget his trusty guidance. Even the Estate Agent branch manager who handled my purchase fell in love with him that day and whenever I spoke to her in the run-up to completion, she would always ask after my “lovely uncle.”

Mick now has two Facebook pages in his memory. As a ‘silver surfer’, I think he would feel quite chuffed to know that he is fast becoming a social media legend. He loved using his high-tech gadgets, his PC at home, his laptop, and his smart phone. When we helped clear his flat, we found in various drawers more phone chargers and accessories than Carphone Warehouse. Again, I think it was a sign that he simply liked keeping in touch and communicating with folk. He enjoyed having the latest phone and was always looking something or other up on the internet – you could ask Mick anything and if he didn’t know the answer, he would always go away, look it up for you, and let you have the answer later.

For someone who left school at 15, Mick was very learned. He enjoyed reading non-fiction books and watching TV documentaries about science, nature, and astronomy. He knew lots about lots of things. He also enjoyed writing – be it letters or his diary - and I think he could easily have made a very capable Open University student. He also enjoyed going to air shows and displays and was up on fighter planes of the two World Wars. He enjoyed travelling and I know he took much pleasure in family holidays to Ireland when David and Karen were young. I also know that Mary’s folks and family adored him, although perhaps that was something to do with him having the gift of the gab (the English equivalent of kissing the Blarney Stone), or when it came to sinking a pint of Guinness, being able to drink you all under the table in his younger days!

I think it was a sign of Mick’s very active mind that he often had vivid dreams. An Else family classic was my Nan being very cross with him when one night he managed to completely rip open his pillowcase in his sleep. Apparently, both Nan & Granddad laughed their heads off when Mick told them in his defence that he’d been dreaming of working at the fruit & veg shop and that he was ripping open what he thought was a sack of potatoes! Other memories I have of Unc from Gillam Street was when he was a teenager and had the run of a very long shaped bedroom – the length of the kitchen scullery downstairs. He used to build Airfix models of fighter planes, fill them with cotton wool, hang them from the ceiling, and set fire to them by way of re-enacting a fighter plane scene. Needless to say, this did not go down too well with my Nan and Granddad. Imagine! - In the days before smoke alarms too! Mick would often recall this when he and my Mum talked about Nan & Granddad and living at Gillam Street, even up until recently, and it always made us laugh out loud ... Happy days.

Talking of happy days and family times, I know how much Mick enjoyed spending time with David and Ryan, and how he introduced Ryan to the art of fishing, a past time he enjoyed and found very relaxing. Again, when we tidied Mick’s flat out, Uncle John found lots of his fishing gear that he’d stored away in one of his many cupboards, so he’d obviously planned to use it again someday. I also know how much he enjoyed spending time with Karen, Tyson and the boys, especially for a picnic last summer when Ryan joined his cousins too – he may not have seen you all as often as he would like but he was very much the proud grandfather and cherished happy times with you all.

I also know how much Mick enjoyed being part of the Scout family over the years and loved being a major player in camps, swimming galas and many fundraising events for the 4th Headstone Group. I know too how he much enjoyed spending time with his pals at the local cricket club, the St John Fisher Club and the Home Guard Club - whether it was playing cards, dominoes or simply enjoying a pint and a good old laugh, joke and chinwag, and classic ‘boys banter’ and camaraderie. I know how much Mick enjoyed the company of his fellow residents of Forfar House, especially the impromptu drinks outside on a summer evening. ... And I know all of this about all of you because Mick often spoke of the happy times he spent with you all, and the laughs and banter you shared. On his behalf, thank you for your friendship and companionship, especially through some tough times in recent years.

Mick was taken from us very suddenly and unexpectedly, and many of us would not have been able to say goodbye in the way we would have wished. A variety of medical conditions had affected him in recent years and his health had deteriorated. The very tragic passing of his son David also took its toll on Mick in the last few years. He would try to convince those closest to him that he was doing okay but, deep down, we knew how deeply affected Mick was from the loss. He was also frustrated by his severe arthritis, and when his second knee operation did not turn out as expected and as he had hoped. Yet, he always remained cheerful and I never once heard him complain about his disability. He was not disabled – he was just differently able, and he still maintained his independence, a spirit of determination, and created a comfortable quality of life for himself despite the limitations of his ill health. In the end though, I think that Mick had simply had enough of operations, doctors, and having to take endless medication.


On behalf of the family, thank you to those who visited Mick at Watford General Hospital, and to the nursing staff in Intensive Care and AAU for their care during the last 10 days of Mick’s life. As my Mum and Uncle John have each said, his passing is a “very sad but happy release.” None of us wished to see him suffer anymore – Mick was a proud man and he would not have wanted us to see him suffer - and we must take solace that he is now at peace.

His Journey's Just Begun by Ellen Brenneman
Don't think of him as gone away
his journey's just begun,
life holds so many facets
this earth is only one.

Just think of him as resting
from the sorrows and the tears
in a place of warmth and comfort
where there are no days and years.

Think how he must be wishing
that we could know today
how nothing but our sadness
can really pass away.

And think of him as living
in the hearts of those he touched...
for nothing loved is ever lost
and he was loved so much.
We will all miss you but you will always be close at heart and thought.

God Bless Unc and safe journey x x x x x