Michelle Fedewa
Michelle Fedewa has been acknowledged as a person of substance, both in her professional and personal life in the Lansing State Journal Obituary: http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/lsj/obituary.aspx?n=michelle-r-fedewa&pid=134552414#. Herein, I want to remember her as a person of style. For me to remember her in this way is somewhat incongruous because I met Michelle through the sport of dog sledding- not a sport known for the panache of its enthusiasts.
The last time I saw Michelle at a dog sledding event was in her capacity as Treasurer of the Michigan Dog Drivers Association (MiDD). About two hours before that start, the electricity went out in portions of the campground. I was going site to site to see who had power and started by knocking at Michelle's camper. The door flew open with Michelle at the doorway asking, "What's up? What's up?" The top of her bib overalls dangled at her waist, the sleeves of her long john top were pushed up to the elbows, ready for work, and orange can sized curlers were pinned precariously on her head. "I'm just checking on who has power," I answered. "Oh, is everybody out? I just plugged in my hair dryer and the power went," she replied. "Um, well I think Rick is on it, but I'm seeing who all is out." Then, looking at her, I queried, "Curlers Michelle? No, don't tell me- I get it. Standards. We must maintain certain standards." "EXACTLY!" she agreed, raising one of her arms, open palmed as a visual exclamation point. "But Michelle, won't your hair just be covered up? No, no, no- don't tell me. It's for when your hood is down, right?" Michelle grinned back at me as if she were getting away with something a little naughty, her eyes widening and her head nodding repeatedly.
Two hours later, the power back on, Michelle was near the start line, dressed in her fur trimmed parka- hood down- with a clipboard, forms, pens, and a watch in hand. I could hear her helping teams get ready. "Whatcha need? Did you get something to eat? I've got a snack bar here in this pocket. Oh, maybe it's in the other one. Here it is. Neckline? I've got one here. Booties? Linda's got them. LINDA! Scratchy throat? Here's a lozenge. Hands cold? Take my gloves. No, no my hands are really warm. It's okay. Take them." And then without taking a breath, she hollered, "Okay, number one's coming up." Michelle ran a one person relief agency from her parka pockets. Finally, in and amongst everything else she had tucked away, out came...the perfect lip gloss- to moisten the smile that would send us all off down the trail that day.
With her passing, the heavens shine that much brighter. We can feel her presence each time we help someone, and be comforted. However, without her, our earth is that much less, well...fun.
-Patty Lorandos
