Michelle's Funeral

Michelle passed away on January 20th after an 8 year fight with cancer.  We were all so sad to see her go, but it was time.  She had fought so long and hard and her body had nothing else to give.  If anyone could have kept living but sheer will of spirit, it was Michelle, but her body had other ideas.  She woke up that morning and said that it was time for her to go.  She gathered all her children around her and said good-bye.  I had told Jon that when she was ready to be done, to call me.  He called me and told me that she said it was time.  I was at work, but I quickly left and headed over to the house.  I said my own good-byes and she made me promise again to take care of Jon.  At about noon Katie Pickett and I kept giving her morphine and Michelle never really woke up again.  We gave her more morphine every 2 hours even though she didn't wake up and she passed away at about 8pm.  Just Jon, Katie, and I were there.  We were so grateful that she passed away so quickly after she decided that she was ready.  We love you so much Michelle.  Till we meet again.

Michelle's Funeral program

Pictures of the tables that were set up at the funeral

Family photos

The primary sand at the funeral

Scarlett wrote this about Michelle. It was so sweet.

Michelle planned her whole funeral.  She wanted the 4 C's: cookies, cake, candy, and coke.

Michelle's best friends

Taraka Pyper, Megan Mortensen, Katie Pickett, Marianne Thompson, Stephanie Fuhriman

Michelle asked me to speak at her funeral. It was one of the hardest things I have ever done, but I know that God and Michelle were with me because I was definitely able to share her true spirit.

Michelle was not only my sister-in-law, but also one of my closest friends.  I’ve had the privilege of knowing and hanging out with this incredible woman for 20 years. I have learned a lot about her over these years, and I want to share with you what I know about Michelle.

The first thing that I know about Michelle is she was funnest person I know.  We affectionately called her the fun mom.  All the nieces and nephews like her better than their own moms. Every summer she made a calendar that was jam packed with activities…petting zoo, crafts, trampoline park, lake days, rodeos, baseball games, blowup waterslides, lemonade stands and on and on.  And she did all of this with cancer.  My sister Jessy and I always commented that she exhausted us, and we didn’t have cancer.  She was always planning or going on a vacation...Island Park, Disney Land, Hawaii, Panama.  She could ride a unicycle, and she once was found by her mom standing on an ironing board on top of her bed surfing with her kids.  She loved to dance and was the best dance teacher ever.  It was more fun to watch Michelle at her dance recitals than the dancers because she was so enthusiastic and animated. We all fondly remember a family camping trip at Camp Na-bor-lee when she taught us a dance routine to “My Songs Know What You Did in the Dark”.  And she still loved us even though the Spears are terrible dancers.

The next thing I know about Michelle is she was completely unflappable. My house is a mess and needs to be cleaned…who cares, we’re going to the lake.  I have cancer and have been given 3 months to live…nope, I’m going to live 9 years and pack about 40 years of living into those years.  Scarlett wants to wear buffalo plaid pajamas to school EVERY DAY…I’ll just buy more pairs and let her.  My sister-in-law Angela said one time they were at a basketball game and she and Michelle went and bought ice cream, and they accidentally dropped it.  Michelle just picked it up, wiped the top off, and ate it. Nothing seemed to ruffle her feathers. 

Another thing I know about Michelle is that she always made you feel like you were her favorite.  She was just so fun to be with and when you were with her you always felt like you were one of the cool kids.  She had a way of listening that made you really feel like you were heard. My sister-in-law Rachelle said that Michelle managed to make whatever you had to say seem totally valid.  She said that Michelle was the glue that brought us all together. 

Michelle was brave.  Nothing scared her.  I recall hiding behind her a few times as a big dog was racing up to me even though she is half my size because I knew she would save me.  If we needed someone to go resolve a conflict, we sent Michelle because no one intimidated her.  We also sent her because she could sweet talk anyone into doing anything.  Michelle could sell ice to an Eskimo. 

Above all, I know Michelle loved her kids.  She loved the rest of us, and she tolerated Jon, but she fiercely loved her kids.  She was at every baseball game blasting walkup music on a speaker, every basketball game squeaking rubber duckies when the other team was shooting free-throws, every dance concert, and every play performance.  She even snuck out of the hospital one time to make it to a play performances.  She was always the loudest cheerer on the sidelines, and she brought treats for the whole crowd.  She sewed costumes, made treats, washed uniforms, packed lunches, drove carpool.  She had cookie Monday, and the kids rotated choosing what kind of cookies their mom would make for them each Monday.  She had the best family traditions like pie day on March 14th where each kid got to choose a pie that Michelle lovingly made for them or making candy canes at Christmas.  Michelle was all in when it came to being a mom and loved her kids with all her heart.

The last thing I know about Michelle is that I know she had a testimony of Jesus Christ.  As a teenage girl, she went to church all by herself because she knew that God lived and loved her.  Her mom said that she would walk to the Bountiful temple by herself all the time. She chose to get married in the temple to Jon because she knew that she was making covenants with God to seal her family to her forever. 

Michelle’s mom called her Missy Sunshine which is a very appropriate name because she shared rays of sunshine with everyone she met.  Even though we can’t see her anymore, her rays of light will continue to shine. When we decide to ignore the mess for a day at the lake, when we incorporate cookie Monday or bring a bluetooth speaker to a baseball game to blast loud music, or surf on an ironing board, let us think of Michelle and the sunshine she brought everywhere.  We mourn, but we should celebrate. We miss will Michelle, but she’s okay. She’s where she should be, and the plan of happiness works. God lives. He sent His son. Jesus atoned, died and was resurrected for us, and because He lives, so does Michelle and we will see her again.