MICHAEL Meilandt - known to many as Mitre Mike - has been remembered for his wicked sense of humour and dedication to the Redlands community.
Mr Meilandt died peacefully surrounded by family on Wednesday, May 13 after a short illness.
He was 61.
Born at Saint Ann's Hospital in Cleveland, Mr Meilandt attended Thornlands State School and later Cleveland District State High School.
Sister-in-law Linda Meilandt said he had spent his childhood at the family farm at the bottom of South Street in Cleveland.
"The family were tomato farmers," she said.
"There was a big old jetty with a swimming enclosure that he and (brother) Gary and the local kids in the street would spend endless time there.
"He was a very good rower from a young age, and he would just take off on a rowboat and row into Moreton Bay, to the shock of a lot of locals.
"The comment used to be 'who's that bloody kid out there?'"
As a teen, he was a Rural Youth member.
He left school at 15 and went to work at the Queensland Fruitgrowers Co-operative Society, where he remained until it ceased to operate about 20 years ago.
"QFS in those days was the farming supplier for the area when the Redlands was still considered our salad bowl," Ms Meilandt said.
He then started work at Redland Bay Mitre 10 and stayed there until its closure in February 2019.
"His life was about helping people, from early days in the farming community through to helping people in the hardware store," Ms Meilandt said.
"He was known by so many people.
"He had a wicked sense of humour. He was quick-witted, irreverent, a great storyteller.
"He always had some anecdote or funny story, generally about some friend or family."
Mr Meilandt was a keen tennis player in his younger years and had a passion for cars.
"He lived his life on his terms, how he wanted," Ms Meilandt said.
He is survived by older brother Gary and his three nieces and nephews.
"The kids call him the coolest uncle ever," Ms Meilandt said.
"They just loved him so much."
