Citizens memorialize Sequim paraeducator

Michael Lovejoy, a Sequim Schools paraeducator who had been on a kidney transplant list, died July 13. He was 51.

By Matthew Nash • July 27, 2016 1:45 pm
A group of Sequim residents gather in front of the Sequim Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on July 21 to wave and honor former Sequim schools’ traffic attendant Mike Lovejoy (bottom left inset) at his funeral. Lovejoy was well-known in his tenure for waving at each vehicle that drove by.
A group of Sequim residents gather in front of the Sequim Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on July 21 to wave and honor former Sequim schools’ traffic attendant Mike Lovejoy (bottom left inset) at his funeral. Lovejoy was well-known in his tenure for waving at each vehicle that drove by.

About 40 people gathered to honor a man known for his smile.

Michael Lovejoy, a Sequim Schools paraeducator who had been on a kidney transplant list, died July 13. He was 51.

One of Lovejoy’s duties for the school district before he became too ill to work had been as a traffic attendant at the corner of Fir Street and Sequim Avenue.

He was known for waving and smiling at each driver.

“He brightened my day and my kid’s day as we drove to school with a wave and a smile. He would wave at every car without fail each day,” said Shenna Younger, who organized the group to wave in honor of Lovejoy before his funeral at the Sequim Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on Thursday.

Younger said she was proud of the turnout on July 21.

In a 2013 interview with the Gazette, Lovejoy explained why he waves.

“I feel more comfortable that way,” he said. “I feel like I’m not doing my job if I’m not smiling. I’d rather be smiling and happy than standing there like, ‘Well, I don’t want to be doing this.’”

According to a GoFundMe site set up to help the family cover funeral and medical expenses, Lovejoy died suddenly at Hurricane Ridge, where he and his wife, Lynelle, were spending time together.

She performed cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) on her husband until park rangers and first responders arrived. Their resuscitation efforts were unsuccessful.

Lovejoy had been undergoing dialysis at his home, the a GoFundMe site said.

His obituary said he loved working with developmentally disabled individuals and cherished his jobs at the Sequim schools, which included working with youths in special needs classroom.

He and his wife had been married for 20 years. In addition to his wife, he is survived by five siblings, Howard Tug (Lorri) Lovejoy of Tacoma; Shawna (David) Carron of Jefferson City, Mo.; William Slade (Deborah) Lovejoy of Rigby, Idaho; and Tani Linnea Lovejoy and Loraine (Eric) Lovejoy-Evans of Port Angeles, as well as 12 nieces and nephews.

The donation site, www.gofundme.com/Mike-Lovejoy, which was created July 14, had gathered $4,510 of a $10,000 goal as of July 26.

Below, Mike Lovejoy, seen here in 2013, waves to cars as they pass. Several locals said Lovejoy made an impact simply by smiling and waving. Sequim Gazette file photo by Mark Couhig