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Michael Ettorre
May 5, 1958 - April 20, 2014
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<div itemprop="description">Mike always professed that &ldquo;Welland was the centre of the universe and that all good things came from Welland&rdquo; and we couldn&rsquo;t agree more, for it was where our beloved Mike was born and raised. And thanks to Mike for his endless stories, we are all now familiar with the engineering feat of the construction of the Welland Canal. The &ldquo;Big E&rdquo; as Mike was known as in his youth by his &ldquo;Rex Hotel&rdquo; buddies Fish, Nancy, Doc and Randy O attended Welland High excelling in both football and basketball. Mike&rsquo;s claim to fame was winning the Ontario High School Basketball Championship in 1975-76 and he never ceased boasting that the team photo is still proudly displayed at Seaway Mall in Welland. His buddies described him as patient, easy going, full of laughter and the kind of guy that could fix anything. After high school, Mike furthered his studies at McMaster University and then Mohawk College. <br /> <br />Mike enjoyed a lifelong career in the hi-tech industry with Storagetek and its successors, where he proudly represented OCE print technologies in Canada for many years. Mike was highly regarded by his colleagues and customers as an expert in colour print technology garnering him numerous Presidents&rsquo; Club Awards. <br /> <br />While at Storagetek, colleagues became friends and lifelong friendships were created. Together, they supported each other through marriages, divorces, the starting of families, STK baseball, billiards and bowling to name just a few. Winter weekends were spent sledding with &ldquo;the boys&rdquo; and May 24 weekends were legendary at &ldquo;The Shack&rdquo; along with the annual Bills tailgate party. And it was in those early days at Storagetek that Mike had the good fortune to be befriended by Dennis and Paul Villalta. They immediately adopted Mike as their brother and together with their families included &ldquo;Uncle Mike&rdquo; in every aspect of their lives. From camping vacations, to building decks and docks at the 4D&rsquo;s cottage, jet skiing, sledding, communions, confirmations, graduations and weddings, Mike was always included. We are profoundly grateful to the Villalta families for their enduring friendship and kindness to Mike, and most especially over the past few months. Mike was the luckiest man in the world to have had such amazing friends. <br /> <br />Eleven years ago, Mike and Cara were introduced by mutual friends and were inseparable ever since for they shared a true bond and absolute devotion to each other. In that short time, they enjoyed many wonderful vacations in Germany, Austria, Italy, the Canadian Rockies, the Cabot Trail, the Carolinas, Cape Cod, Lake Placid, Chicago, Boston and many more. Mike introduced Cara to cottage life with the Villalta&rsquo;s in Haliburton including jet skiing, tubing, snowmobiling, campfires and great chocolate donuts. Mike bought Cara her first set of golf clubs and amazingly even taught her how to cook. If only Mike had known what he was getting in return. For somehow, Cara convinced Mike to help carve Halloween pumpkins with his power tools, wear silly costumes for their young nieces, attend their dance recitals, download and watch countless Disney movies, bake for the church bazaar, stand outside in the snow or rain for the Santa Claus parade, participate in tree decorating parties, decorate their home for every occasion and host amazing parties for friends and colleagues. Together they enjoyed their road trips to the Aberfoyle Antique Market, St. Jacob&rsquo;s Farmer&rsquo;s Market and to the &ldquo;Beach House.&rdquo; Mike and Cara loved renovating their home and were gracious hosts to family and friends in their gourmet kitchen or out in the gardens. Their home was the go to destination for the Howell Clan&rsquo;s infamous Sunday &ldquo;Supper Club&rdquo; dinners with Mike as Master Chef. Many gatherings were finished off with a tasting from Mike&rsquo;s single malt scotch collection, or grappa, and of course, cigars. Most recently, Mike enjoyed hitting the road in his prized MB convertible. <br /> <br />Despite undergoing almost 100 rounds of chemotherapy, 18 rounds of radiation and numerous surgeries over the past five and one half years, Mike continued to work fulltime since his diagnosis, only stopping with great hesitation in late June of 2013. He truly believed and wanted so desperately to get back to work right up until the very end. Special thanks to our employers; OCE (Canon), RRD and AB SCIEX; for their incredible compassion and flexibility over that time. <br /> <br />Mike will forever be remembered as the most gentle and generous man by his truly beloved best friend, wife and soul-mate Cara Howell. He is the cherished son of Ascenzia and the late Domenic Ettorre of Welland and big brother of Irma (Albert) Iannantuono of Fonthill. Dear Uncle Mike to Josh and Quinton Iannantuono whom he taught how to use hand tools and spoiled silly on birthdays and Christmas. Beloved son-in-law of Catherine and the late Thomas Howell of Brampton. Brother-in-law, handyman and tech-support for Stephen (Laurie), Heather (John Luvison), Shanen (Martin Andrew), Alanna (Bob Yates) and Alice (Shawn Keba). Uncle to Brandon and Alyssa Howell and best Uncle ever to Avery and Maggie Keba, whom he absolutely adored and doted upon. Mike is fondly remembered by the Ettorre, Di Sebastiano, Volpe, Villalta and Mc Enaney families. <br /> <br />Family and friends will be received at Brampton Funeral Home &amp; Cemetery &ndash; 10061 Chinguacousy Rd. (at Boviard) 905-460-9155 for a celebration of Mike&rsquo;s Life on Thursday, April 24, and Friday, April 25, 2014 from 6 to 9pm. Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at St. Mary&rsquo;s Catholic Church, 90 Griffith Street, Welland on Saturday, April 26, 2014 at 10:00am. Entombment at Pleasantview Mausoleum, Fonthill. <br />In recognition of the kindness of both the Oncology Clinic staff and volunteers at the Trillium Queensway site, memorial donations to the Trillium Health Partners Foundation &ndash; Queensway Oncology Clinic, or to Heart House Hospice would be appreciated. <br /></div>