La Trattoria staff were left in shock following the sudden death of friend and colleague Mysail (Mimi) Guirigay.Mr Guirigay was found dead by co-workers in his Paget apartment on Friday.The 42-year-old chef leaves a wife and two children in the Philippines. He has a brother who lives and works on the Island.Originally from Mindanao Island, Mr Guirigay was diagnosed with kidney failure in January.Member of Parliament Dale Butler, who is Director of Training, Leadership and Communications at MEF Ltd’s group of restaurants which includes La Trattoria, last night paid tribute to Mr Guirigay, who he described as a “dedicated worker”.“We view his passing as a great tragedy, he was a great worker and we kept him on staff during his recent illness,” Mr Butler said. “He was waiting for a kidney transplant.”Said La Trattoria manager Micki Russo: “Mimi was very much a gentleman. He was very a nice man, very soft spoken and kind. Mimi was well loved by everybody respected.“Mimi had some responsibility here at La Trattoria and he will be missed by everyone.”Staff realised there was a problem when Mr Guirigay didn’t show up for work or at a scheduled hospital appointment.Said Mr Russo: “I told my assistant to drop everything he was doing and find Mimi.“He called me back and said the door [to his apartment] was locked and I told him to ‘kick it down do whatever you have to do’.“But another employee showed up with a key and they found him in his bed.”Police announced the sudden death on Friday.“Around 2.30pm police and first responders attended a reported medical emergency at a Southcote Road, Paget residence where a 42-year-old man was found in an unresponsive state. He was subsequently pronounced dead at the scene by an on-call doctor.“There does not appear to be any suspicious circumstances at this time; however an autopsy is anticipated in due course.”Mr Russo explained that Mr Guirigay had been feeling unwell since late 2011 and was diagnosed as a diabetic in January.“He could not travel because of his sickness. He has a son, just 16 months old, that he has never seen. He loved his children.”Filipino chefs Dhejhay Bonifacio and Eduardo Soriano worked with Mr Guirigay and played on the Kapatid (Brothers) Basketball Team with him.“Mimi was a good guy. He loved to joke. I’ve been here two years and in that time, we’ve had a good friendship,” Mr Bonifacio said. “He was older and he gave good advice. He was a good worker and his heart was in his job.“Yesterday and today have been difficult. We were all in shock. The mood was different. Nobody talked.”Added Mr Soriano: “Mimi, even though he was senior to us, he was willing to chip in and it didn’t matter to him. For him, his spirit was such that he wanted to work.”