Our Story

My name is Michael Farmer and I was born in Camden, NJ as the youngest of six siblings. My educational background is not vast but the drive and the guidance instilled by my stepfather pushed me to become a hard worker and a dedicated father to my children.

I grew up in Cleveland, OH where I graduated from Health Careers Center in 1988. In 1990 I enlisted into the United States Navy during Desert Storm as an Operations Specialist NTDS (Navigation Tracking Data Systems). After leaving the Navy with an Honorable Discharge, I returned back to Cleveland and was granted custody of my children and worked hard to become the best role model for them.

After becoming a disabled vet, I took care of myself and my children to the best of my ability by working several different jobs that varied from sales to holding management positions which eventually transitioned into manufacturing roles. I became injured while working which resulted in surgery that limited my ability to perform certain tasks, which is the reason I left there and started my own business as a real estate investor buying and flipping residential properties.

After running my company for one year, my youngest son Mont’e Lee Farmer, with whom I had custody of since the age of two, was diagnosed DSRCT (desmoplastic small round cell tumor) at the age of sixteen, which is an aggressive, rare form of cancer which had never been found in an African-American male. Based on his genetics, Mont’e was given a 0% chance of surviving his diagnosis, and we granted Cleveland Clinic Children’s Hospital permission to use his blood and tissue samples for further research to assist others with the same diagnosis. Mont’e made this decision because he didn’t want other children to suffer with this illness as he had.

As a single parent, this process was hard. I watched Mont’e come to terms with the denial and then acceptance of his illness which gave me hope. He eventually accepted his truth which was beautiful and his will to live was very strong despite us knowing the outcome.

For the first few months Mont’e refused to allow the cancer to consume him and was determined to make it home for his 17th birthday which was December 10, 2022, and his persistence paid off because he was discharged at the end of October 2022. We celebrated his birthday with several of our close friends and family.

As a father, I cried daily begging for his pain to be my pain and asking for my heavenly father to take my life and spare my child. Every night I would hear Mont’e laugh, and joke around with his friends while playing his PS5. The joy of hearing his laughter through the floor was enough to make me believe that he would beat this cancer.

On February 15, 2023 Mont’e and I sat at the dining room table and he asked me if there was a God, and if so, why God would want to take his life? As a parent, I was at a loss of words, and kept asking the same especially since he was innocent and had never hurt anyone. Those questions completely broke me, but as a stoic father I couldn’t bring myself to cry in front of him. As a father, who’s position is to always protect his children, this caused a certain death within myself.

Throughout his sickness Mont’e never cried, and even though his condition was dire, he was always worried about me. Mont’e and I laid together in his bed and as he spoke, I listened and wrote the words he spoke, which would be written in his obituary.

As the end drew near, Mont’e decided that he wanted to go under the water and be baptized, which took place on Sunday, June 11th, 2023. He passed away at home on July 4, 2023 at the age of seventeen surrounded by his loved ones.

Everyday is a struggle with guilt for me behind his passing and in dealing with the pain of watching him suffer. Mont’e loved helping people and wanted to pursue a career in real estate so MLF Investments Foundation is dedicated to his memory (as MLF stands for Monte Lee Farmer) and will be set up to provide housing for veterans and felons, in addition to housing for those who struggle with substance abuse and will offer support to assist them in transitioning back into society.