Michael Francis Cleary is remembered lovingly as ‘Mick’, ‘Grumpy’, or ‘Fossil’ — a great family man, teacher, coach, teammate, mentor, barman, bus driver and friend, who became a father figure to many who were privileged to know him.
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“He was a giant of a man,” Adam Cleary said of his father, who passed away on October 13.
Since the shock of Mick’s unexpected death on an evening walk in Strathmerton last week, heartfelt tributes to the one-of-a-kind community leader have flooded social media.
Mick was a kind and charismatic man who could get along with anyone, and whose sharp wit often had crowds roaring with laughter.
Born at Deniliquin Hospital on September 21, 1953, Mick’s parents Patricia ‘Gabby’ Cleary, nee Coman, and Thomas ‘Toppy’ Cleary managed a wheat and sheep farm at the time.
Mick was the third of eight children, and brother to Genevieve, Edward (Ted), Angela, Thomas (Tom), Bernard, Eleanor and James (Jim), and spent his youth growing up in Gippsland.
As a young boy, the trip to school often involved walking or riding substantial distances, however, on their first day at St Joseph’s school, Iona, in 1964, Mick and his siblings scored a lift to school.
“The family’s Dodge sedan wouldn’t start on the first morning so the farm ute needed to be used to deliver the kids to school,” Mick's sister Angela said.
“The older kids had to stand up in the back of the farm ute holding onto the paling fence Toppy had put in to contain the calves on the way to market.
“Toppy and Gabby rode inside the ute with the assorted toddlers and babies in the front with them.
“For some reason, Toppy drove right into the schoolyard, to a comment thrown from a nearby student, ‘Here come the hillbillies!’”
After secondary school, Mick studied a Bachelor of Arts at La Trobe University before attending Frankston Teachers College.
“In his heart he was an educator,” Adam said of Mick’s wonderful career as a teacher and principal.
His first job after teacher training was at Armata Primary School, followed by opportunities at Buln Buln Primary School, Forrest Primary School and Strathmerton Primary School, where he finished his career before retiring in 2009.
Past students remember 'Mr C' fondly as a cheerful, cheeky and motivating influence.
Mick made friends wherever he went, and over the course of his life he spent time living in Tynong North, Iona, Bunyip, Drouin West, Frankston, Buln Buln, Forrest, Cobram and Strathmerton.
Among a long list of sporting achievements, Mick was a life member of Strathmerton Football Netball Club, Strathmerton Cricket Club and Murray Valley Cricket Association.
His passion for sport saw him not just playing, captaining, and coaching over the course of his life, but selecting, scoring, bus driving, drink mixing (no cordial), and taking on the responsibilities of club president, secretary and treasurer at different points.
MVCA president Anthony Holmes said Mick had a gift for finding common ground with anyone who crossed his path.
“Before long he’d be having jokes with them like he knew them for years and years,” he said.
Mick was famous for creating new mix tapes for cricket bus trips, featuring an eclectic array of songs and Monty Python skits.
At the motel at the end of the night, crowds would form naturally around Mick as he regaled the small audience with jokes and stories.
Mick was fortunate enough to spend 44 years married to the love of his life, Yvonne Margaret Akers, or ‘Yvie’, who he wed on September 10, 1977.
Yvie met Mick when she was 17, and also worked as a teacher and principal.
“They were the perfect couple,” Adam said.
In 2017 Mick made a full recovery from a mystery illness that left him bedridden for six months, and took up walking in recovery, "a bit like Forrest Gump".
He was regularly clocking 20,000 steps a day and was in the best physical shape he'd been in for at least a decade, according to his family.
Mick had plans to join Yvie on trekking trips, which she had been enjoying for some time.
He was a long-suffering Western Bulldogs fan, a gardener who loved tending the vegie patch and pottering around at home, and an occasional punter who could often be seen studying the form.
Most of all he loved his family.
Together, Yvie and Mick had four children: Adam, Daniel, Marcus, and Tessa, who he famously helped deliver on the roadside.
He adored his six grandchildren — Thomas, Esther, Edward, Flynn, Patrick and Mabel.
• Due to COVID-19 restrictions, a private service to celebrate the life of Michael Francis Cleary was held on October 26.
Shepparton News journalist