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So sorry to hear of your loss. I hope she gets to see the Lord's face.
Sister Laura Michels, Chaplain to the stars, RIP
God's power hitter and SSI Lurker enters the Hall of Fame
My dear aunt and Godmother Sister Laura Michels, known by myself and and my family as Aunt Janice, has gone to heaven after a extended battle with brain tumors and complications.
http://www.gozags.com/genrel/020818aaa.html
http://www.zagsonline.org/s/829/17-match/index.aspx?sid=829&gid=1&pgid=5821
Janice was one of my favorite people in the world, and served as chaplain for the Gonzaga's Mens Baseball team as well as the Girls Basketball team. She spent a number of years as a principle and teacher in Seattle area Catholic Parochial schools like St. Mary's in the Seattle Central District and Immaculate Conception in Everett. We loved to talk sports and she was a great Mariner enthusiast. Since she also loved my writing, she came to this site often to see what I had to say. She also loved reading about the Mariner prospects and players who were coming up from the Gonzaga program, and would be very interested in what Doc and us would say about their chances.
The players loved her dearly, as well as the hundreds of students who where touched by her love, laughter and insight. As I went to the hospice to say my final goodbyes a number of young men from the baseball team did as well. Aunt Janice always made it a point to write a poem to read along with the prayers she would lead in pre-game meetings. The players laughed when I brought this up and spoke of how much these prayers meant to them and the coaching staff. I told here once I was getting jealous of her players and wanted a poem as well. She obliged and I'll always treasure it.
I just wanted the community here to know that this remarkable woman was a fan of this site, and appreciated hearing about how the Marco Gonzaleses and Cody Martins of the Mariner world would fare in the big leagues, now that they were no longer under her direct spiritual care.
- Rick Michels
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Thanks, Matt
I have another gift from her: Her 2009 WCC Baseball League Champions ring. I’d post it but not sure how to do it here.
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to those who never met them is one of the more beautiful things we can do, in my opinion, to spread their influence as far and wide as possible even after their passing.
It sounds like you had a special connection with a special person, and that you treasure it just as you should. My condolences on your loss, but more importantly I'm glad for your gains during the time you shared.
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Rick,
You've hit a homerun in remembering your aunt, Sister Laura Michels. And it sounds like her life and her powerful influence on young people was a homerun, as well.
As a Mariner fan and fellow educator, I salute Aunt Janice and her legacy.
I am sorry for your loss, but remember that the world is a better place for her short presence. That's about what we can all hope for. There is an immortality of sorts in a life of service lived exceedingly well: I have no doubt that she has found it.
Keith
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Condolences, Rick. A wonderful tribute to your Aunt Laura. Sounds like she was seeking the Better Country whose builder and maker is God (Heb 11:8-16). If so, there is great hope that she has reached it. We honor her.
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I appreciate the kind words. It was a joy sharing this site and all of you with her. I remember we had a lefty in the bullpen from GU a few years back. He was having an impressive spring and Doc was pretty excited about his upside. I made sure she saw the article and she was pretty pumped for the possibilitie he had. The fellow didn’t quite cut it, but hey, baseball is dreaming, right?
When Safeco first opened, she was there, and later gave me her commemorative ticket. If you sit up on the third deck, to the left of the batters box, you can see the St. Mary’s steeple, where her first teaching assignment was back in the sixties. If I could, I’d buy a seat there and engrave her name on it.