Final Salute

Heenan , Mick
Mick (John Michael) Heenan died peacefully on June 25, 2023, after a sudden decline following several years of living with cancer.
He chose to battle the cancer in ways that allowed him to maintain the quality of his life as long as possible, which was much more important to him than the number of years he would live.
He is survived by his daughter Corey Jane Heenan of Loudonville, NY; his brother Tim Heenan (and wife Kim) of Orleans, MI, and his sisters Cynthia Heenan (and partner Buck Davis) of Detroit, MI, and Carol Seajay of San Francisco, CA; his daughter-in-law Jessica (James) Heenan of Chesterfield Twp., MI; his nieces Mallory (Heenan) Jansen and Jamie (Heenan) Minaya and their families in the Lansing area; and his partner Suzanne Henning, as well as many, many friends, including Lorraine Willison. He was sadly preceded in death by his son, Jason Michael Heenan in 2020.
Born to Jack (John Ambrose) and Shirley (Blalock) Heenan on December 5, 1947, in Kalamazoo, Mick graduated in 1966 from Plainwell High School.
After graduation from Michigan State University with an agricultural degree, Mick served in Vietnam with the Navy Seabees, utilizing the skills in operating heavy machinery which he learned in his early years of farming. He was honorably discharged in 1971.
Farming was the only career Mick ever wanted, purchasing his first tractor at 15 and proudly parking it in the family driveway when he wasn’t working the fields around their Cooper Township home. As a kid, he sat on neighborhood farmers’ fences until they gave him a ride on a tractor or put him to work. Over the course of his farming career, Mick grew corn, soybeans, wheat, hay and was Michigan’s first commercial sunflower seed producer. He also raised pigs, beef cows, goats and tolerated chickens and barn cats. Since 1995 he raised and trained Belgians at his farm in Bloomingdale, Bittersweet Acres Belgians, and gave wagon, sleigh and carriage rides on the farm and at area events and weddings. He designed and built a special accessible wagon for folks with disabilities.
He also worked at Plainwell Elevator, the Kalamazoo Nature Center and drove a bus for the Bloomingdale Public Schools.
Mick was a big guy with a heart to match and gentle as a lamb. He was calm, wise, thoughtful and practical in all things — always there to listen, counsel or console. He learned something new every day, mostly by quiet observation. He always had time to talk and made everyone feel like the center of his universe. He made and kept close countless friends over his years of farming, 4-H, Allegan County Fairs, bus driving and working with horses. When friends fell on tough times or passed on, Mick was always there to put up the hay, feed the animals and provide a strong shoulder to cry on.
Status and material things, beyond the tools of his trade, meant nothing to Mick. He was all about caring for the living things in his world.
He was accompanied everywhere by his loyal Golden Retriever companions Tanner and then Riley, who now lives on a nearby farm.
Many thanks to the loving friends who supported Mick to the end and the wonderful staff at Rose Arbor Hospice in Kalamazoo.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Alzheimer’s Association. https://www.alz.org/help-support?form=alz_donate
A Gathering of a Celebration of Mick’s Life will be held in July.