Wednesday, August 10, 2016 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon
9
Obituary
Michelle Leigh Bell
gregory Karl Brand
December 8, 1968 — July 19, 2016
July 3, 1959 — May 28, 2016
In honor of a wonderful
life that ended far too soon,
the family of Michelle Leigh
Bell will host a celebration
of her life at 2 p.m. Saturday,
August 13, at the Sisters
Westside Church.
Demonstrating her indom-
itable spirit and perseverance
throughout her four-year
battle with cancer, Michelle,
47, passed away on July 19
at Partners In Care’s Hospice
House in Bend following an
outpouring of love from her
family and many, many close
friends.
Born on December 8,
1968 in Denver, Colorado to
Bruce and Nancy Blakeslee,
Michelle attended public
schools in Colorado, Missouri
and Arizona before attending
Arizona State University in
Tempe.
Michelle moved to
Portland in 1994 to be close
to her mother, Nancy, and
her stepfather, Jack Beeman.
There, Michelle met Sean
Bell, of Portland, and they
were married on September
14, 1996.
Sean and Michelle have
three sons, Blake, Conner,
and Carson.
The family moved from
West Linn to Sisters in 2008,
where Michelle became an
active volunteer at the Sisters
Elementary School while
continuing her office man-
agement and bookkeeping
business that spanned nearly
20 years.
She also supported her
husband’s growing business,
Solutions Yes, a Portland-
based office equipment dealer
where Sean is the president.
Immersing herself in an
active life in Sisters, Michelle
owned several horses that
expanded her chores around
their family ranch. She
enjoyed camping vacations
to the Oregon coast, Detroit
Lake and Prineville Reservoir
as well as international travel.
Recognizing the benefits
of family sports, Michelle,
Sean and their three sons
became active in Outlaw
Martial Arts, a Taekwondo
studio in Sisters. Even after
being diagnosed with can-
cer, Michelle continued her
martial arts training, earn-
ing a High Blue Belt. Out
of respect for her Black Belt
level courtesy, integrity, per-
severance, self-control and
indomitable spirit, the five
tenets of Taekwondo, Outlaw
Martial Arts bestowed
Michelle with an Honorary
Black Belt on January 10,
2015.
Michelle’s motivation also
spurred her son, Conner, to
earn his Black Belt at the age
of 12.
Michelle is survived by
her husband, Sean; and sons,
Blake, Conner, and Carson.
Her mother, Nancy Beeman;
and step-father, Jack Beeman,
of Sisters; her grandmother,
Irene Elder of Mesa, AZ;
and two uncles, Chet Elder
of Denver and John Pierce
of Mesa. Her family also
includes her father-in-law
and mother-in-law, Brian Bell
and Karen Shepard of Bend;
and her sister-in-law, Heather
John and her husband Mark
and their children, Lucy and
Ethan of Portland.
Her father, Bruce and her
brother, Troy, preceded her in
death.
The Bell family wishes to
thank the many, many care-
givers who worked so hard
to find a cure for Michelle’s
cancer from St. Charles
Bend, Fred Hutchison Cancer
Center in Seattle, Providence
Portland Medical Center,
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Ronnica Westcott
Jenny Duey
Mary Morgan
541-588-6611
220 W. Cascade Ave.
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MD Anderson Cancer Center
in Houston and OHSU, as
well as the very comforting
care from Partners in Care of
Bend.
N i s w o n g e r- R e y n o l d s
Funeral Home of Bend pro-
vided cremation.
In lieu of flowers people
are encouraged to make
a donation to the Sisters
Schools Foundation, Inc. in
her name.
The Sisters Westside
Church is located at 442
Trinity Way, Sisters.
Gregory Karl Brand was
a long-time resident of Blue
Lake, Suttle Lake, Caldera,
Sisters area. He was born in
Covina, California. Raised
in San Gabriel Valley in
Southern California. He
died suddenly of natural
causes while taking his usual
morning walk with his dog,
Lazzie.
He is survived by his
mother, Joyce Brand Class;
sisters, Christina Lauer and
Teresa Clemmer; and two
nieces, Rosie and Holly
Lauer.
On Friday, July 8, a
memorial was held for him
on the Gary Lovegren family
property where he resided
for the past 16 years. Pastor
Mike Golden of Calvary
Chapel Sisters conducted the
service while so many of his
“extended family” and close
friends joined in the celebra-
tion of his happy and joyful
life here in God’s country as
he served Him.
A few of his interests
were dogs, of which he had
several, motorcycle riding all
around the West Coast, and
working around young peo-
ple. Although he never had
children, much of his work-
ing experience was around
youth at youth camps. He
loved working with youth, a
talent God blessed him with,
and they loved him in return.
He received many testimoni-
als at his memorial reflect-
ing his love of youths and
Jesus.