[Flagdu] sharing the news of the passing of Mike Sergeant, friend and trainer to many

Wed Sep 14 17:48:04 UTC 2016

Dear Kathy and FLAGDU list members,

I had Mike's cell phone number so I took a chance and called this morning to
see if someone would answer.  His friend and landlord did answer and was
gracious enough to speak with me.  I also called the Guide Dog Foundation
and received a return voicemail.  Currently, this is what I know.  Mike was
last seen Sunday at 4:00 pm and was found dead in his apartment Monday
evening by his landlord/friend.  His body is at a funeral home in Maryland
and there is no information on their website, according to GDF, but once
family has made arrangements it will be posted.  The rep from GDF gave me
the telephone number to the funeral home and I will call them to get the
spelling of their name and the web site address.

I have fond memories of Mike from receiving my first guide with
Southeastern.  Mike would like to come up behind new students especially
while they were engaged in conversation with other students and he would
unleash your dog.  I was one of his recipients, but he did not get my dog!
LOL  Also, my first guide, Sydney, and I were  sponsored as a team by a
group called the "Tree Trimmers".  The group had fundraiser auctions of
Christmas tree ornaments and Sydney and I attended several of these and were
always honored to sit with Mike and others from SEGDI.  

He was a great trainer, but he was much more than that; he was kind, caring,
and compassionate to all of us who were honored to know him. I am very sad
to hear of his passing and I hope that spiritually he knows how much he
meant to so many.

If anyone is interested and if I find out, I will be happy to post his
funeral/memorial service information.

Peace to you all and may we continue with love, hope, and determination to
grow our Federation family.

Warmly,
Merry C. Schoch, LCSW
National Federation of the Blind
Florida Association of Guide Dog Users
Vice President

-----Original Message-----
From: FLAGDU [mailto:flagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Kathy Davis via
FLAGDU
Sent: Wednesday, September 14, 2016 1:24 PM
To: 'Florida Association of Guide Dog Users'
Cc: Kathy Davis
Subject: Re: [Flagdu] sharing the news of the passing of Mike Sergeant,
friend and trainer to many

Thank you for sharing this sad news Sherryl. I didn't really know Mike but
knew of him and met him a couple of times at convention. Do you know where
he was living when he died? I know Mike had a reputation for being a
fabulous dog trainer. 

Take care and God bless,

Kathy

-----Original Message-----
From: FLAGDU [mailto:flagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Sherrill
O'Brien via FLAGDU
Sent: Wednesday, September 14, 2016 12:18 PM
To: flagdu at nfbnet.org
Cc: Sherrill O'Brien
Subject: [Flagdu] sharing the news of the passing of Mike Sergeant, friend
and trainer to many

Hello to all,

Our Vice President Merry Schoch called this morning to let me know the sad
news of the passing of Mike Sergeant. We have no concrete details, but he
passed away in his apartment just a couple days ago. There is no obituary or
announcement of services at this time.

As some of you will recall with great fondness, Mike was the "Top Dog" at
Southeastern Guide Dogs for many years. He then moved his talents to Guide
Dog Foundation in New York, and had a passionate interest in GDF's  program
which serves our returning veterans.

When I first attended Southeastern  in 1987, I was fascinated by the stories
Mike told about his service in Vietnam and how he trained and worked with
the wonderful dogs who saved the lives of many soldiers and kept many more
from harm's way. I felt all the more confident in my choice of training
programs since he had been dedicated to training dogs for important service
from the time he was a young man.

If anyone would like to share their memories of Mike, feel free to post them
here. I realize many of you never met him, but I know you appreciate our
desire to honor an excellent and passionate guide dog trainer, and
especially one who was always willing to listen to and show respect for
blind consumers.

I'll send more information if it is forthcoming.

Warm regards
Sherrill

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