NEW YORK — Michael John Dion, 43, of Maine, Connecticut and New York City, died July 9, 2016, in New York City after a brief struggle with cancer (lymphoma). He was born in Putnam, Conn., on Dec. 26, 1972, the son of Jacqueline Harjula and Leonard Dion.

He was the grandson of Lois and Albert Harjula of Thomaston. Michael was identified as gifted and talented in music while still in grammar school, and continued to fill his life with music. A graduate of E.O. Smith High School in Storrs, Conn., he was a member of the high school band and the chorus, and acted in several plays at the school, including Grease and Little Shop of Horrors. He continued his musical education at Shenandoah University in Winchester, Va., and graduated with a degree in musical theater.

The bright lights of Broadway called to him, and he moved to New York after graduation. For 11 summers, he taught music at a two-week Summer Arts Camp in Connecticut (Young Peoples' Institute), and later at the Creative Arts Summer Camp in New York, and inspired many of his students to develop their talents in music. He worked at Hershey Park in Pennsylvania, and also did summer theater at Hackmatack Playhouse in North Berwick, Maine.

After the World Trade Center disaster, Michael temporarily moved to Maine to the family's ancestral home. He cared for his late grandmother's many cats, worked for a local auction gallery, and served as the beloved organist and choir director for the Thomaston Federated Church for a year during the regular director's leave of absence. He dearly loved Maine and the ocean, but New York was his first love. He returned there and taught music at Cristo Rey High School in Brooklyn, N.Y. His students sang at Carnegie Hall and his classes attended plays on Broadway with him. His last years of life were spent acting in various TV shows and movies, including Boardwalk Empire, The Good Wife and Blacklist Malefactor.

To quote Michael, in a bio he wrote for a TNT show he appeared in: "Michael John Dion is an actor, musician, and teacher who lives in NYC. His work in indie features and shorts has been seen in film festivals from Los Angeles to New York to Berlin. He spends his summers leading a music program for young scholars in Manhattan, and the rest of the year in pursuit of ever-interesting roles to play. Classically trained in acting, voice, dance and piano, Michael John embraces the freelance movement and is always excited for what will happen next."

Michael is survived by his parents; his sister, Deborah Stebbins and her husband, Gary, of Bristol, Conn.; his brothers, Ralph Dean Jr. and his wife, Cindy, of Thomaston, Maine, William Dion and his companion, Patricia Picard, of Chaplin, Conn., and Joseph Dion and his wife, Kelly, of Columbia, S.C.; an aunt, Yvonne Dion; an uncle, Mark Dion; and several nieces and nephews.

A Memorial Service will be held in New York City on Saturday, Sept. 17.

The joy he brought to many people with his beautiful voice and extraordinary skills "tickling the ivories" on the piano will be sadly missed. His music was truly a gift from God.