Saturday morning, I went to St. Joan of Arc Catholic Church to pay respects to the family of Mr. Michael Trafficano, who passed away April 6 at the age of 82.

I am a couple of years older than Mike but can remember him in high school.

We weren’t close friends, but I do know that he played football and was very good. My uncle, Joe Keller, was the coach and like all coaches, he had a few favorites.

Mike was one of them. The reason being is that he was coachable, humble, quiet, practiced hard, never complained and was a team player.

Even though we both lived in St. John all our lives, I didn’t get to see Mike or his family very much.

He and his wife, Anna Lee Schexnayder Trafficano, were married for 58 years, had four children, six grandchildren and four great grandchildren.

At the visitation, I shared with some of his children that their father was one of the finest persons I ever knew.

They all agreed that their dad was the best. It never was about him but about the people he loved.

Mike never made the news and wasn’t active in politics.

While completing this article, I was thinking that Mike is the first person I pay tribute to whom I didn’t know very well.

According to his family and friends, I think his life can be best described in Philippians 2: 3-4, “Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness (humility) of mind let each esteem others better than himself. Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others.

At the end, the only thing that matters is Mike’s relationship with His Heavenly Father.

I’m sure he was welcomed with: “Well done, My good and faithful servant.”

If you have any questions or comments, please write Harold Keller at Get High on Life, P.O. Drawer U, Reserve, LA 70084, call 985-542-8477 or email hkeller@comcast.net.