MICHAEL ROBERT MONACO
(02/16/1981) to (11/07/2019)
Mike was the proud owner of Mike’s Automotive Service in North Haven. He was hard working, meticulous, determined, and persistent. He loved the technical challenge of recovery and towing. Mike was born with a love of all things that had wheels. As a toddler, he could always be found carrying a huge ring of keys. He put many miles on his bicycles, dirt bikes, lawn mower and later vehicles of all kinds.
Mike will always be remembered for his sense of humor and wonderful laugh. He was an adoring uncle to Ethan, Julia, Mason and Gianna and loved to get them riled up. Family meals often included Mike starting a food fight and the children teasing him about having chocolate cake for dessert, which he greatly disliked.
Mike was also a lover of boating and being on the water was one place that he was able to truly relax. It was Mike’s motto to never leave “loose ends” and he appropriately named his boat just that. Mike also loved playing cards and enjoyed the many friends he made through the Knights of Columbus and Grand Central Cafe.
Mike was a lifelong lover of animals. He was a Brother Knight of the Knights of Columbus. He was a member of Bruce and Johnson’s Marina, Branford Yacht Club and City Point Yacht Club. Mike enthusiastically sponsored many local youth organizations. He was also a proud sponsor of the North Haven PBA. Mike was a graduate of Vinyl Technical High School class of 2000.
Mike was more than a mechanic and business owner. As his long-time employees, associates, and loyal customers, will tell you, Mike was a friend to all and truly valued and cared for them. He was compassionate, generous and always willing to help others.
Mike was the loving son of Gail (Jakubisyn) Monaco and predeceased by his father Bob (Robert) Monaco. Mike treasured his wonderful fiancé, Heather Cousins, her daughter Olivia and their puppies, or “babies” Lewie and Hannah. Heather was by his side in all aspects of his life: work, fun and love. He leaves behind his beloved mentor and best friend in business, boating and life, Mike Pomichter (Barbra). He was the amazing brother of Michelle Reynolds (Steven) and Kate Smith (Mark). He was a wonderful nephew, uncle, cousin, employer and friend to many. Our world lost an exceptional person and he will be greatly missed.
The visiting hours will be Tuesday from 4 to 8 pm at the North Haven Funeral Home, 36 Washington Avenue. Family and friends are invited to go directly to St. Elizabeth of the Trinity Parish at St. Barnabas Church, 44 Washington Avenue, North Haven on Wednesday morning at 10:00 to attend a Mass of Christian burial and are also invited to attend the committal service immediately following in All Saints Cemetery.
To a great friend, my set-back partner (who bids 4 and leads out with an 8?), my mechanic and an all-around great guy. Your journey ended way to soon but I hope your found enjoyment in everything up to this point. You will be remember today, tomorrow and always!
To all my Jakubisyn cousins:
My heart aches for all of you.
With love and profound sympathy,
Denise Jakubisyn
May you rest in peace Michael.. You will always have a place in many peoples hearts.. to all his family and friends may God hold you in the palm of his hands and guide you through the days ahead of you.. you will all be in my thoughts and prayers.. love you all Cousin Lorraine
My sincerest condolences to the entire Monaco family. Mike was a good friend of mine. He always treated me and my family with respect. He will be sorely missed but not forgotten. May he find peace in heaven.
Matthew 5:4 Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.
So sorry….
God Bless and peace be with everyone in the family. My deepest sympathy to all.
Love you all,
John J Donnelly
From Danielle, Andre and I our most sincerest condolences on the loss of Mike. He left this Earth far too early. My kids still remember the good times they had in Connecticut years ago, Mike being one of those memories. Keep him within your heart always and he will always be with you. May God bless.
Heather I am so sorry for your loss I have seen you and Mike grow to love each other in these past 3 years together I love you and I will be here for you on this difficult journey ❤️ Debby
We are saddened to hear of Michael’s passing. He will be greatly missed.
Our love and sympathy,
Candice Kevin Sean and Kyle Barth
Gail, there are just no words to describe my emotions right now. Just know that Michael will be with you forever in your heart. Heaven just needed another angel. My thoughts and prayers are with you all at this most difficult time. I love you all. So sorry I can’t be there. We have some great memories. I will never forget Michael. With my sympathy and prayers being sent your way. Mary Q
Mike will be sorely missed. He was a kind HONEST person who treated his customers with the utmost respect. We shall miss him dearly. Our hearts are broken. Rosemary & Ed Petrosemo
We don’t even know where to begin! Mike was more than just our family mechanic, we were lucky enough to call him friend. He was extremely honest, kind, generous, wise, sweet and most of all gifted with people and mechanics. We are saddened by his loss. The world is missing out on such a wonderful, beautiful soul.
Our hearts are truly broken..
Love, Ray, LauriAnne and Rhiannon DeMartino
To all of my Jakubisyn cousins:
My heart aches for all of you.
WIth love and profound sympathy,
Denise Jakubisyn
We are so very sorry to hear about Mike’s passing, he was such a nice man and will be missed. You are in our thoughts and prayers. Chris and Diana Lambiase
See ya in Heaven
Gail,
Words couldn’t convey the shock and sadness we felt when we heard the news of Mike’s passing.
My deepest condolences.
My sincere condolences to the entire Monaco family. Mike was a caring and kind person. I remember him for all the extra good achievements he did during his short life. Rest in Peace.
Little Mike! We just gave ya a hug last Tuesday! We will forever be in your debt for how you helped our son Marc over the years. Now y’all are both working on God’s car together. Rest In Peace
I will be in Pennsylvania on tuesday and will miss the wake. I was saddened to hear that Mike had passed away. I will miss him as will most people. He was a great guy
Gail I am so sorry for your loss may he rest in peace my prayers are with you and your family dawn fahey
My deepest sympathies to Heather and Michaels families. Having my vehicles repaired by Michael over the past 4-5 years, I got to know Michael and Heather as good honest people and they would go out of their way to help you. Michael was always up front and explained the situation. As a brother Knight of Columbus Michael understood the what it meant to be a Knight. Michael not only was my mechanic but he also became a friend. He is on a better place and will be missed by many. God bless him and is family.
Michelle and Steve, and the entire Monaco family-
We are so sorry for your loss. Take comfort in all of your wonderful memories.
Love-Courtney and Toby
Michael you will be missed and remembered for a very long time. In 4 short months, you became a friend, Someone to admire, trust, and be proud of, as a businessman In the community. You and Heather were quite a team, so honest, trustworthy, and brilliant with everything that you touched.
Dear Gail,Michelle & Katie.
My most heartfelt sympathy for your family’s loss and for everyone whom loved Mike.
Mike was a great fellow,always the gentlemen,a straight shooter you could count on.
As a teenager and young man Mike seemed much older than his years.
God Bless and Keep You, Rest In Peace Mike.
The Manchester Family
My sincere condolences to Heather and Mikes family, Mike was a great guy who went out of his way to help everyone, I have so many stories of the help that he gave me and conversations about friends, family and life, a great mechanic that would make sure all Repairs were completed 100%, He will never be forgotten.
My sincere condolences to the Monaco Family.Remembering seeing him down at Marina early morning sometimes. He will be missed. Rest In Peace.
My deepest sympathies to you Gail and your family. I have fond memories of Michael. Sending you lots of hugs, love and prayers. Aloha
My prays are for the Monaco family during this time of sorrow. I remember Mike as the young man who hung around with my son for many years. His politeness, caring attitude and true friendship was special for a young man. When he opened the station my husband would bring down our car or truck and tell me Mike was still the same and carried those attributes over to his adult years. Mike will definitely be missed.
My condolences to Mike’s family & friends……..so sad. I had just started bringing my car in to him as I got such good reviews on him. He was so kind & caring & helpful to me.
Our deepest sympathies to Heather’s and Mike’s families. He will be missed. We enjoyed the time we spent with Heather, Mike and Lewie at the marina on B dock, our boat Ricochet was right across from Loose Ends. Rest In Peace Mike.
My heartfelt condolences to Gail, Michelle, Kate, and the entire Monaco family. It’s amazing to hear of all the lives he has touched and How much he’s admired in the community. The memory that sticks out most for me is his laugh. Raspy and devilish at times but constant. Always smiling. Keeping you in my thoughts and prayers, may he Rest In Peace.
We were shocked and saddened to learn of Mike’s passing. Unfortunately, we did not know of this until after the funeral. I began taking my cars to Mike shortly after he opened Mike’s Automotive. He was not only an excellent mechanic but a true professional. He always took time to explain complicated technical automotive “stuff” so that even I could understand it! Mike was honest, sincere, compassionate and highly dependable who was also blessed with an outgoing personality and wonderful sense of humor. Our thoughts and prayers go out to the Monaco family and to Heather. May God be with you and comfort you during this difficult time. Mike will be sorely missed.
Ed and Pamela Wilkes
I was shocked and saddened to just recently learn of Mike’s passing from Heather. I live just across the street from Mike’s shop, and had gotten to know Mike over the past several years from him servicing my vehicles and the numerous technical discussions that Mike and I would have afterwards, which I always greatly enjoyed. Being a long-time auto mechanic and engineer myself, Mike’s extensive knowledge, talent and compassion for his trade was always very apparent to me, as was his honesty and integrity and great personality. Mike will never be forgotten. John Leati