Mike passed away November 22, 2008 at his home near Loon Lake, SK. Michael had been engaged in a two and half year dance with cancer. He met this challenge with a remarkable mix of tenacity and open minded exploration and had lived, mostly active and pain-free, considerably longer than the estimated six months. The last few years let him get his affairs in order and witness several family milestones. His final act was to show his family how to bravely face the process of dying. All his children were able to be with him in the last hours of his life. Michael was 68.

Mike was born in California and was the only child of Robert and Carroll Wilson. His father died early in Mike's life. Mike's unusual childhood was spent with his mother moving around the United States and Europe. This experience left him with an appreciation for differences in landscape, culture and language; it also made him yearn for a sense of place and family.

Mike returned to California to complete high school. He won a merit scholarship that funded his Bachelor's degree in Geography at Stanford University (1958-62). A collapsed lung episode that occurred while Mike was preparing for basic training unexpectedly excused him from military service. After a short stint as a commercial map maker, he began work on a Ph.D. program in the Department of Geography at the University of Oregon under the mentorship of Prof. Carl Johannessen. While at the U of O, Mike met and married Rebecca Van Sciver.

In the late 1960's, with funding support from the Woodrow Wilson Foundation, Mike and Rebecca spent eighteen months in highland Guatemala in a Mayan village. The fieldwork done there was the basis of Mike's PhD. thesis. Mike joined the University of Saskatchewan's Geography Department in 1970 then headed by its founding professor, Dr. Howard Richards. Mike remained a faculty member of the U of S Geography department until his retirement in 1999. Participation in the Millennium Edition of the Atlas of Saskatchewan and guiding Will Wilson (no relation) through a PhD. project were high points at the end of his academic career.

Mike was a man with many interests and talents: handyman, computer guy, musician, artist, folk dancer, model builder, pilot, photographer, voracious reader, dishwasher. He viewed his roles as parent and spouse the most important ones of all. He and Rebecca had two children: Jenifer and Mihai. That marriage ended in the late 1970's. He married Joan Harrison in 1981 and Naomi was born shortly after. All three children attended the Saskatoon Open School where Mike was an involved parent for an incredible eighteen years.

Mike's spiritual home was the Unitarian Congregation of Saskatoon, a place where he found inspiration, community and a way to put his time to good use, especially after retirement. Mike was also an active member of the Saskatchewan Environmental Society throughout most of his time in Saskatoon. In 2005, Mike and Joan decided to try life in the country and moved to live full time at Quanta Co-operative Farm near Loon Lake, Sask.

Michael is predeceased by his father and mother. He is survived by Joan, Jenifer (Jes), Mihai (Marcella), Naomi (Kris) and Rebecca. A memorial service was held in Loon Lake on Saturday, November 29 at the Calvary United Church. A Celebration of Mike's life will be held at the Unitarian Congregation of Saskatoon at a later date. Mike requested that memorial donations for the later event be directed to the Unitarian Congregation of Saskatoon.