March 26, 1993 - December 12, 2021
Michael was born on March 26, 1993 in Grand Forks B.C. and was the eldest of two children born to Christine (Nicodem) and Bill Zarubin. His early childhood years were spent in Grand Forks, and then in December 2001 he relocated with his mother and sister to South Carolina, United States. Michael loved returning to Grand Forks for regular visits with his dad, his extended family, and his friends. He excelled academically as he was a highly intellectual individual. Michael attended Clemson University for his post-secondary studies, where he chose the Computer Program Engineer track and found his studies to be easy. Following university, Michael moved back to Grand Forks.
A life-long and avid video gamer, he enjoyed games on a variety of platforms. Eventually he developed a preference for computer gaming, taking advantage of the higher internet speeds late at night for the fast-paced games he preferred. Michael hoped to make a living doing something that he truly enjoyed and began setting himself up to earn an income stream from playing and adding commentary to games shortly before he passed.
Michael, who was a self-taught musician, excelled at guitar and loved learning complicated songs. During his early years playing guitar, he and his band Last Secret took second place in a Battle of the Bands competition. He also spent many hours writing his own material and planned to complete and release his own album.
He had a wonderful sense of humour, especially liking clever word play which twisted common words to give them a new meaning. He often found humour in daily events and unfortunate circumstances, joking both about his condition and other topics to the end.
Michael possessed an innate understanding of food and enjoyed both cooking and eating equally. Michael excelled at the culinary arts and sometimes choose to cook without using recipes. Anyone who tasted his alfredo sauce could attest that the results did no suffer for a lack of formal directions.
He never shied away from any conversation but especially loved deeply philosophical and existential discussions. Well versed in many subject areas, Michael would freely admit when his knowledge was weak if someone stumbled upon an area he was not familiar with. Upon the next visit, Michael would be well prepared to discuss the topic again with solid knowledge and understanding due to the study he put into the subject during the intervening time.
During his early medical treatments, Michael met Sharyce Persson and they formed a very close bond. Michael loved to refer to Sharyce as his adoptive mother and dispite being separated geographically; they spent many hours in deep phone conversations. He was very grateful for their relationship and the time they enjoyed together.
Michael slipped away peacefully at home on December 12, 2021 at the age of 28 years. He is survived by his father Bill Zarubin, his sister Vanessa Zarubin and many members of his extended family. He was preceded in death by his mother Christine Nicodem.
A service was held to celebrate Michael's life on December 15, 2021.