Michelle was born in Stoke Newington on 24 March 1969 fifteen minutes after her twin brother. She grew up in North London and stayed there until 2005. During her time at school she made many friendships, some of which are still going strong.
Michelle joined the University in March 2012, having moved down from London some years earlier to assist her mother who was unwell. She proved to be a breath of fresh air in the team with her forthright manner and would regularly pipe up that things were done differently in London! Michelle had a very good relationship with the Professional Services divisions she worked with, especially the Estates Division who she soon put in order. Woe betide any member of staff who tried to spend on an account that did not have enough budget against it.
Michelle loved travelling with friends whether it be holidays abroad or long weekends away in the UK. Michelle would regale the team with her often-hilarious adventures – she had a knack of getting into ‘situations’ mainly of her own making. Michelle was the unofficial team social secretary and would be the one who organised team lunches and get-togethers outside work hours.
Michelle was diagnosed with bile duct cancer in July 2016 and from the very beginning she fought her battle with such courage and bravery. She tried everything to beat it – all the treatment the NHS had to offer, including volunteering for trials, to a trip to Lourdes to be submerged in the holy waters. She remained unbelievably positive even when those around her crumbled at the unfairness of it all.
Michelle refused to give up and even after her last round of chemo came back into work in November 2017. She would appear with a chocolate croissant and a mocha (‘just a little treat’, which Michelle always had every morning!) and get back to it as though she had just been off on holiday. Members of the team would regularly have to force her to go home but I only once heard her complain that maybe she would leave as she was feeling a little tired.
In late November 2017 Michelle moved back to London to take part in a trial not offered in Bristol. Her childhood friends came down to help her move and I was privileged to meet some of Michelle’s London mates, whom we had all heard so much about. This is when we discovered that Michelle had a shoe collection that rivalled Imelda Marcos’ and more clothes than TopShop. Talking to her friends gave a good insight into Michelle’s wonderfully optimistic attitude towards life.
Although we knew it was coming, the whole team was shocked by the news of Michelle’s death. We miss that very special person who always greeted us with a sunny smile, a cheeky grin and another story about a mishap!
However, being the hoarder that she was, Michelle has left us a lot of reminders. With the move of part of the team to St Augustine’s Court, a lot of clearing up of our team area took place. This clear-out uncovered bags of Michelle’s shoes, multiple piles of paperwork and several empty Tupperware boxes amongst other things. The Tupperware baffled us all. No-one in the team can remember Michelle bringing in her own lunch…. there were far more fun and interesting things to do in life than make your own lunch!