Mickey Flynn
Mickey Flynn, 86, passed away on Friday, April 12th, 2019 in Houston, Texas. He is survived by his wife Betty Bielat and a blended family of five children, 11 grandchildren and 4 great grandchildren. Funeral services will be held at St. Paul the Apostle Catholic Church in Nassau Bay, Texas, on Tuesday, April 30th at 10:30am and at Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church in Northridge, California, on Thursday, May 2nd at 10:00 am.
Mickey was the oldest of 4 children born to Clarence and Arline Flynn, and will now join his siblings (George, Kathleen, and Marie) and parents in heaven. Mickey was born in Minneapolis Minnesota and earned his degree in liberal arts from St. Mary’s College in Winona, Minnesota. He taught in Kansas City, St. Louis and in Ghana Africa as a young adult, before ultimately settling in Southern California to get married and raise a family. He would say that his primary profession was as a lifelong teacher, whether that be in Catholic catechism, English, math or physical education. He substitute taught and also coached youth in a number of sports. In the middle of his career he was a government worker for the Social Security Administration, and also worked for Freedom Newspapers as a supervisor in their distribution areas, both in Orange County California.
In 1999 Mickey started ‘Life 2.0’ when he was the fortunate recipient of a heart transplant at Methodist Hospital in Houston Texas. Betty Bielat generously agreed to be his post-transplant caregiver and approximately a year later they were married. They made a family home in Seabrook Texas over the next 20 years. During his time in Seabrook he was a substitute teacher in the local public school district, volunteered in a federal retiree program, partnered with Betty in a ‘New Life’ ministry for blended families, and enjoyed getting to know organizations such as the Knights of Columbus at the churches noted above. During the last several months both Mickey and Betty transitioned to The Shores at Clear Lake assisted living facility a few miles away and he received exceptional support from the caregivers there as well as Sheila’s Angels and the Providence hospice team.
Mickey was a ‘gentle soul’ who loved to teach and tutor, coach, travel and root for his favorite teams (primarily Notre Dame and the Los Angeles Dodgers). He was a loving friend, son, brother, father, grandfather, father-in-law, uncle and husband. He will be missed by many but is sure to have been greeted in Heaven with a warm hug and a genuine ‘Well done, good and faithful servant!’
Mickey was also a wonderful neighbor in Seabrook! When my family moved back to the greater Houston area after a 4 year hiatus, Mickey and Betty became our across the street neighbors in Seabrook. We would see Mickey out riding his bike through the neighborhood and to the mailbox later in the afternoon. Mickey welcomed us to the neighborhood and we enjoyed our conversations with him when we would see him outside.
Mikey was a friend and mentor to all who knew him. Such a gentle soul, who daily walked the talk of his faith. We have known him through our New Life Ministry over the past 18 plus years. We visited him at his new home just weeks ago, and spent time reminiscing of the past. We will miss his smile and quick to laugh persona.
I’m so sorry to hear about Mickey. He was a member of the Lay Mission-Helpers Association, the organization he served with in Ghana. I met him on several occasions when he lived in Southern California. He always had a positive and upbeat attitude. May he rest in perfect peace.