Obituary of Michael Randolph Holland

It is with broken hearts that the family of Michael Holland announces his passing at the Dr. Everett Chalmers Hospital in Fredericton on Thursday, May 21, 2026, at the age of 49. Born in Fredericton on July 1, 1976, he was the son of Susan Holland and the late Fred Holland.

In addition to his mother, Susan, Michael leaves behind his brother, Peter Holland; his second mother, Wendy Holland; his life partner, Patricia Ortiz, and her daughters, Sofi and Izzy, as well as his much-loved aunts, uncles, and cousins. Michael was predeceased by his father, Fred, and by his grandparents, Avondale “Bus” Dickison, Isabel and Bob Chalmers, and Hartley and Edwina Holland.

After university, Michael began his life’s adventures by travelling around Europe for five months, soaking in the culture, backpacking all the way, and living on a shoestring budget. When he returned home, he started work at HSBC Bank, but that life was not for him. At the end of his contract, he traded his dark suits and hard shoes for T-shirts and leather sandals and set off in his little Tracker loaded with camping gear.

He eventually landed in Whistler, where he worked for many years as an event coordinator during the winter and travelled during the summer, all the while making friends from around the world. For several years, Michael spent time in Roatán, an island in the Caribbean about 65 kilometres off the northern coast of Honduras, where he learned and later taught scuba diving. He loved the friends he made there and the life he lived.

Michael always came home to visit regularly and returned home for good two years ago with plans to continue his life here with Patricia.

Our sad tears will, in time, become happy tears as we think about Michael and the life he loved, travelling the world and spending most of it outdoors, on a mountain top or under the sea. Michael lived a life many of us would hope for but would be afraid to try.

We, his family, thank the doctors and nurses on 4SE, who treated Michael and all of us with the most loving care possible.

This is one of Michael’s favorite poems, by Robert W. Service (first verse):

There's a race of men that don't fit in,
A race that can't stay still;
So they break the hearts of kith and kin,
And they roam the world at will.
They range the field and they rove the flood,
And they climb the mountain's crest;
Theirs is the curse of the gypsy blood,
And they don't know how to rest.

There will be no visitation. A graveside service for family and friends will be held in Sunny Bank Cemetery on Friday, May 29, 2026 at 11:00 am. For those who wish, donations in Michael’s memory may be made to the Chalmers Foundation or the Canadian Cancer Society.