Michelle Elaine Taylor Grace, born in Seattle on April 30, 1953, passed away on Monday, Dec. 4, 2017, (just nine weeks after her mother Doris Taylor), at the home of her sister Marcia and Clyde Monma in Clinton, where she was currently residing on Whidbey Island.
Michelle Taylor attended Bellevue Senior High School. At age 19 she bought herself a one-way ticket to Hawaii and made it her home for over 15 years. Following friends, she moved to Boston, believing that the money you made would stretch farther than in Honolulu. With her speech sounding like she was from Boston, she fit right in. She earned several associates degrees attending Northeastern University at night after full days of work. She met “Japes” Grace, whom she was married to for a few years. After living over 10 years in various greater Boston locations, she escaped to New Jersey for a year, before her parents, Wally and Doris, helped her move cross-country back to the Seattle area.
Michelle had many jobs, from bookkeeper, dispatcher, DJ, measurer and distributor of liquid natural gas, sound engineer, recruiter, executive assistant, travel agent, webinar tech to dog caretaker (her favorite); the more varied and handyman type job, the better. She was an avid reader of light novels, liked watching game/competition shows, but she was an extreme movie and music critic. However, if she found a movie/TV or performance she really liked, she rewatched it often.
She played the piano, was in vocal groups and enjoyed performing, but she most loved playing her Native American flutes, which enchanted anyone who had the chance to hear her play. Michelle is survived by her sister Marcia (Clyde) Monma of Clinton and brother Thad (Deb) Taylor of Oak Harbor. She enjoyed her nieces, nephew, cousins and all of their children.
She especially liked to help anyone that had some sort of issues that bucked the norms. Michelle experienced so much, but reality rarely lived up to her imagination; she had an old soul with a young spirit. So she befriended people and dogs of all ages, and she created family among her friends.
In the words of her niece Cori Taylor, “My beautiful auntie, your wild laughter and that crazy twinkle in your eye, your generosity and kindness, you were full of spirit and radiant light beam.”
Michelle had the ability to know when someone needed help and acted on it, especially giving financial help to those most needing it. She was loved and admired by many, who valued her help and advice, and will miss her dearly.
At the end of January, Michelle’s ashes are going to her favorite part of the ocean by Makapu’u Beach on Oahu, Hawaii. A celebration of her life is being planned for what would have been her 65th birthday, the last weekend in April 2018, possibly at Marymoor Park, Redmond.
