Man of the people
Late Mike Laffin was oldest living veteran in New Waterford
Mike Laffin fondly remembered by his community.
NEW WATERFORD — He was a bomber pilot, prisoner of war, dentist, MLA and sports enthusiast, but also a rock star of a joke teller.
Mike Laffin died Thursday, May 23, at age 101, at the Cape Breton Regional Hospital, after a brief illness.
“He was a very nice man, easy to talk to, always in good spirts and always had a good joke to tell,” said Lester Henry, service officer of branch 15 of the Royal Canadian Legion in New Waterford.
Henry visited Laffin a couple weeks ago at Taigh Na Mara in Glace Bay, where Laffin was living.
“We joked the whole time that I was over there.”
Henry was among many across Cape Breton mourning the loss of Laffin.
“Yes, it’s really hard,” he said. “He was the oldest living veteran in New Waterford.”
Laffin enlisted in the Royal Canadian Air Force in 1941 and in 1942 realized his dream of graduating from flight school. He was posted overseas to England. On June 16, 1944 Laffin and his crew were shot down over the Netherlands and he spent seven months as a prisoner of war.
Following the war he attended St. Francis Xavier University in Antigonish and then McGill University in Montreal, where he received a degree in dentistry.
“Yes he was my dentist,” said Gaye Desveaux, of New Waterford, reflecting on the sad news of Laffin’s death.
Desveaux, a family friend, had attended Laffin’s 101 birthday party at Taigh Na Mara on Jan. 9, 2019. While at the party, Desveaux joked with Laffin” “Doctor, I got a tooth out the other day. The last time I got a tooth out it cost two bucks and I got a little shock when (this time) it was $120.”
There are three remaining Second World War veterans in New Waterford — Desveaux’s father, Marshall, as well as Doris MacDonald and Joe Petrie.
Desveaux said Laffin and his father were good friends throughout the years. Although each had their own crowd, the strong bond between veterans was evident to anyone stepping inside the legion and seeing them together. Especially as they got older, Desveaux said, the bond seem to grow. More recently his father and Laffin were both residents at Taigh Na Mara and would often be found side-by-side during entertainment or other events at the long-term care facility. “There are very few of them left and they kind of realize, ‘there’s my friend, he went through what I went through,’ and stuff like that.”
In the 1960s and 1970s, Laffin took up the sport of harness racing, becoming an owner/trainer/driver for many years.
George Della Valle, zone 2 commander for the Royal Canadian Legion, also a horseman, would spend time with Laffin around the former Cape Breton Turf Club in Sydney.
“He was a great guy, always had a great a laugh with him,” he said.
Della Valle said the Nova Scotia Nunivut executive command and council members send their deepest condolences to the Laffin.
A Progressive Conservative, Laffin served as Cape Breton Centre MLA from 1963 to 1974, and 1981 to 1988. He was appointed to cabinet as minister of housing in 1981 and minister of government services in November 1985.
As well as the New Waterford Legion, Laffin was also a member of the New Waterford Army Navy Airforce Club Unit 217.
Laffin played hockey until age 84, then concentrated on another love, golf. The main love of his life, wife Doris, together for 68 years, died in 2016. They are survived by two daughters. Visitation for Laffin will be Monday from 2-4 p.m. and 7-9 p.m. at V.J. McGillivrary Funeral Home in New Waterford. Funeral mass will be held Tuesday at 10 a.m. at the Parish of St. Leonard, New Waterford.
The New Waterford Army Navy Airforce Club will be forming an honour guard.