It is with great sorrow that we announce the sudden passing of our beloved Nick, due to an unexplained medical event.
Nick is survived by his wife Cassie Licari and his daughter Anna. He is also survived by his parents John and Nina (Budowski) Fysh. He will be greatly missed by his twin brother Alex and his sister-in-law Sylvie Recoskie and his niece Stella. He will also be missed by Cassie’s family, Larry and Joan Licari, Jenny (Licari) and Colin Richardson and their children Cameron and Charlotte, and Laura (nee Licari) and Justin Cooke and their children Nora and Avery.
Nick was a beautiful, old soul who brought us all so much happiness and joy and was such a bright light in our lives. Nick was a wonderful husband to the love of his life and best friend, Cassie. Nick was an amazing Dad to his daughter Anna. They were two peas in a pod. Nick was a warm, gentle, patient, and loving father and was always passionately teaching Anna new things. Nick loved to go for walks, spend time outdoors, travel, and explore new places and things with Anna and Cassie. Nick also adored his good friend, siamese cat, Oliver. We know Nick is sitting somewhere in front of a fire with a good book, while watching over his family.
At the age of 12 , Nick joined the 51 Air Cadet Squadron based in the Canada Air and Space Museum. At 17, he joined the Governor Generals Foot Guard. He stayed with the GGFG through his university education. At 20, he was commissioned as an officer in the GGFG and was eventually promoted to Lieutenant. Upon completion of his degree in International Relations, he transferred to the Regular Force as a Lieutenant in the 3rd Battalion of the Royal Canadian Regiment in Petawawa. Upon promotion to Captain, he was posted to Halifax during which he did a six month tour in Afghanistan. He then returned to the regiment in Petawawa. Upon promotion to Major he was posted to Ottawa and worked as a staff officer at CANOFCOM HQ. In 2020, Nick made the decision to leave the Regular Force to become a public servant in the Department of National Defence. At the same time, he transferred back to the GGFG as a reservist. He quickly became a popular and dedicated company commander. He was an avid amateur military historian and collector of military history books. On Remembrance Day, Nick made it a practice to go to the local Legion branch and visit with veterans.
Nick was fiercely loyal to his friends. If he decided you were his friend, you were a friend for life. He also had a keen sense of justice. Nick was an avid fan of rugby. He joined the Cairine Wilson S.S. boys rugby team in his first year of high school. In his last two years of high school he was the team captain. He actively supported the the establishment of Cairine Wilson S.S. girls rugby team.
A private family funeral service and burial will be held at the Beechwood Cemetery. A celebration of Nick’s life is being planned and details will be announced at a later date. Please provide your contact details should wish to attend the celebration of life to “celebration.for.nick@gmail.com’.
In lieu of flowers, please send donations in Nick’s honour to Soldier On, to the Canadian War Museum , or to a charity of your choice.
Digital Guestbook
Jan Hughes Melnyk and Mike Melnyk
Dianne Kingston
I will always remember Nick and Alex as youngsters chasing each other through the woods behind my house using branches for guns. Then I had the privilege to teach them everything an ado.escent needs to know (and some they didn't need to know!). I was lucky to have had Nick in life all these years and to watch him grow into the strong, loving man he became. I send my love to all of you.
Alex Whittaker
I met Nicholas during phase training and we served in the RCR. By both reputation and personal experience I knew him to be a first rate officer and wonderful person. I’m deeply saddened by his untimely passing and my heart goes out to his family.
Gary Pattison
I had the privilege of working with Nick for two years in Ottawa. Nick stood out for his many talents, even among a team of extremely talented individuals. He spoke to me of his family often, and my heart breaks for their loss. I will remember Nick fondly, and I will miss him.
Fadi Diab
Only today morning read the message that Alex sent on our restaurant page (Madameek in Petawawa). I am still in shock. Nick was and will always be one of our favourite customer. Quite. Always comes in with a smile. We always remember his order. He’ll be dearly missed. Will keep him in our prayers and thoughts. Our condolences to his wife and family.
On behalf of Madameek Family and the Diab’s here in petawawa.
Rachel and Chris Sampson
We are so beyond saddened by the news of Nick’s passing. Our deepest condolences to Cassie, Anna, as well as all their family and friends. Our hearts are broken for you. We are thinking of your during this incredibly difficult time, xo
Caroline Smaglinskie
As an Employment Coach with Agilec working on the Career Transition Services project funded by Veteran Affairs Canada, I had the pleasure of working with Nick back in 2019. VAC just notified me of Nick's passing, and I wanted to convey my condolences to all his family and friends.
MCpl Phillips
I met Maj Fysh on a training weekend and I really appreciated his support in helping my troops and I in understanding our role in the training scheme. He provided myself an opportunity to lead my section on various tasks to support his missions and trusting that I can successfully get any task done with no supervision. From my short and brief time with Maj Fysh, I saw that he was a hard worker, easily approachable, very analytical on his infantry tactics when we were doing the AARs, a good listener, and a very respectable man to his HQ team and all his troops. I had taken a brief opportunity to ask him questions as well as to provide some constructive feedback and I truly appreciated that he took the time to listen and we had a very good discussion about it. He was kind to tell me that he really appreciated my team’s support and effort and wanted to invite us back on his future training weekends.
I am saddened to hear that this past experience was my first and last time that I would get to have another opportunity to support a training exercise lead by a very great leader himself. I send my deepest condolences to Maj Fysh’s family.
Your Hughes cousin in Alberta is grieving with you. Mike and I did not know Nick but what an amazing person he was. Just looking at his photo, you can see the humour and friendliness. His keen interest and involvement in the military makes me think of his great Uncles JR, John and Raymond Hughes who served in the Second World War. We feel so much sorrow at the loss of a young father, husband, brother and son.