Felipe Nunez Casique worked for MacFarlane Pheasants for most of the last 20 years. He had been battling an illness for years. He passed away on May 28, 2018 at the home of his former wife, Buffy surrounded by his family. Felipe leaves behind three children who loved him dearly, eight siblings, and a large close-knit community. He was preceded in death by 2 sons. Felipe was born on January 26, 1967 in Mexico.
Bill and Dori MacFarlane were in attendance at Felipe’s funeral and were heartened to see the beauty and grace at the celebration of life his family planned. A brass band lead the parade of people to the grave site as Felipe was put to rest. The MacFarlanes were in awe at the respect and love demonstrated by Felipe’s funeral service.
Bill MacFarlane sponsored Felipe when he first came to the United States to work at MacFarlane Pheasants, Inc. Bill told me that Felipe was an interesting man who became one of the best pheasant people he had ever known. He was extremely loyal to the farm and put all he had into his work there. Bill will always be grateful for the many years Felipe contributed to the farm.
MacFarlane employees, Brian Klein, Shayne Noller, and Chris Theisen each shared their memories of working with Felipe:
When I started working here 15 year ago, Felipe had already been here for, I believe, 10 years. He was the quickest at many of the tasks we completed on a regular basis. For example, when we place peepers on the birds at the farm, the average is 225 birds an hour per person, and Felipe would consistently complete 400 plus an hour.
If we needed to catch mature pheasants for shipments, Felipe could catch and crate more birds per hour than anyone. He had a lot of knowledge about raising pheasants and all the processes we use to raise quality birds.
Brian Klein
I knew Felipe for 13 years. We worked on the pen crew when I first started here. I also hand picked Felipe to work with me for a summer to do pen construction, which consisted mostly of running new cable and replacing old netting with new. I knew that he would be reliable and diligent and he was. I have met very few people in my life that had such a passion for life and work. Felipe took an incredible amount of pride in his job. He was always willing to put in 100% effort and he, handily, worked circles around even the youngest and strongest workers. In my honest opinion, in this day and age, men like Felipe are very hard to find. He'll be greatly missed.
Shayne Noller
Felipe had a lot of experience here at the pheasant farm and could do almost any job. He had an excellent work ethic. He didn't say much but led by example. There were few people that could keep up to his pace, regardless of the job. He would do whatever was necessary to get the job done, including coming in early, staying late, or working on his days off. He was a team player and a valuable member to the MacFarlane team for a lot of years and personally, made my job easier when I started almost 20 years ago.
Chris Theisen
Felipe’s last words were, “don’t worry, be happy!” It is with fond memories that we bid farewell to our friend and co-worker, Felipe Nunez Casique.
http://www.daleymurphywisch.com/obituaries/Felipe-Casique-2/#!/Obituary
Farewell Felipe Nunez Casique from Your Friends at MacFarlane Pheasants