NOV 13, 2019
Mother memorializes slain daughter Michelle Mae | Pine and Lakes Echo Journal
No matter how difficult things were for Shelly, she remained a positive person who people were drawn to, her mother said.
From an early age, Michelle “Shelly” Mae loved rainbows.
They brightened up her wardrobe and were featured in artwork she and her children created together. Gazing upward toward a large rainbow painting pinned to her living room ceiling helped Shelly through a dark period following the death of her infant son, Tobbie.
On Oct. 20, the 35-year-old Outing woman was memorialized by a rainbow when family and friends released 150 red, orange, yellow, green, blue and purple balloons to float toward the heavens. It was Shelly’s request for her memorial - recorded in one of dozens of journals she kept over the years - but her loved ones never expected to fulfill it this early in her life.
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After Shelly’s 2004 Jeep Liberty was located Oct. 4, it was another 10 agonizing days before Shelly’s family got answers. The experience has been surreal, almost as if she’s starring in a movie, DeAnn said.
“And how did I get in this horrible movie? You see these movies about things like this. You watch ‘Dateline’ and those shows of other families. You hope that never happens to you. And then all of a sudden it’s real and it’s happening,” she said. “You think to yourself, are they ever going to find her? … Is it going to be two years before they find her, or what if they never find her, like other families go through?”
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The second oldest of four children, Shelly grew up first in Brainerd and later St. Cloud. She was a gymnast and a dancer and she loved art, particularly painting and especially brightly colored rainbows.
“She made this rainbow and she super-glued it to the back of her bedroom door. Which basically, you know, ruins the door,” DeAnn said. “She loved bright colors. She would get flowers and it would all be bright colors. … That never changed.”
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Shelly and her mother were very close, DeAnn said, and together, they loved music - Brooks and Dunn, Sugarland and Martina McBride were artists they agreed on. Shelly loved to belt out, “Let freedom ring, let the white doves sing,” along with Martina in her 1994 song “Independence Day.”
“She’d always come to clean my house for me,” DeAnn said. “... Next thing we’d know, the cleaning of the house was done and we were singing. That was one of our deep connections because she enjoyed it. I am absolutely a terrible singer, I’m terrible. I can’t carry a note, a tune, nothing. But I would do it with her, because that’s what she loved doing.”
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In 2013, Shelly suffered the loss of her 4-month-old son, TK, to meningitis. That was a devastating turning point in her daughter’s life, DeAnn said. She faced her pain openly, however, and made a point to be receptive to her children’s pain as well.
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No matter how difficult things were for Shelly, she remained a positive person who people were drawn to, her mother said. Her charisma shined in her work as a bartender and server at various area restaurants and bars, including the Pickled Loon Saloon in Outing, and as a retail merchandiser with Driveline Retail Merchandising.
DeAnn said a letter read at Shelly’s memorial service, written by a friend named Jamie whom Shelly met in the aftermath of TK’s death, poignantly described her daughter’s personality.
“Before you came into my life I was selfish, bitter, hateful, thought I was better than others. I was quick to judge without even giving anyone a chance,” the letter stated. “Then I sat down and listened to you talk, listened to your story. That instant my heart changed. You taught me that no one should ever be judged. You taught me how to be more empathetic, and that everyone has their own story to tell.
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Along with sharing personal remembrances, Shelly’s family and friends together sang a rendition of the soul classic “Lean on Me” at the memorial service - yet another of Shelly’s wishes, fulfilled. As her loved ones look ahead to the difficult weeks, months and years before them, DeAnn said she takes comfort in knowing her daughter’s fate.
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MOO
