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Michelle Shegelski  
 
 
 
 
Obituary
 
With overwhelming sadness we announce the passing of Michelle Shegelski on June 15, 2012.

Michelle is survived by her loving husband, Victor; parents, Peter and Cheryl Ernst; sister, Christine (Nigel) Ernst-Lomond; brother, Kenneth Ernst; grandmother, Sheila Haywood; many other family members and friends too numerous to mention.

Michelle, or ‘Mic’ as she was fondly nicknamed, was born in High Level, AB on June 29th, 1985 and lived there until she moved to attend the University of Alberta in Edmonton at age 18.

The Royal Canadian Army Cadet Corp 2979 of High Level was Michelle’s focus during her teenage years; she was a good shot with a rifle (awarded the Crossed Rifles and Crown, their highest award for marksmanship) and especially loved all the outdoor activities including night games and Wilderness Challenge hikes of 10 to 40 km. En route to Vernon for army cadet summer camp, she chatted - animatedly as she always did - to the crew organizing the Hercules aircraft they were to fly in. When they began loading the cadets, she was pulled to one side; instead of sending her home, as she was worried they were about to do, the pilot invited her into the cockpit, and allowed her to fly the aircraft for about 15 minutes. It probably took the whole 6-week camp for her to come back down to earth after that.

Her other great love from a very young age was reading and writing. She was reading by the time she started grade one, wrote poems and short stories growing up and then moved to blogging. Some of her favorite topics were women’s issues, especially being a woman working in a male-dominated profession. She twice participated in National Novel Writing Month, producing novels of 50,000 words.

She graduated from the U of A in 2007 with a Bachelor of Arts, majoring in Psychology and minoring in Philosophy. A relative at one point complimented her “intestinal fortitude” when Michelle shaved her head as part of a school fundraiser. She enjoyed debating, gaming, and made friends everywhere she went, cracking everyone up with her wonderful sense of humor, flair for impressions and comedy routines. She was always ready to take on something new: volunteering at the southside Edmonton City Police station, Chinese language lessons, capoeira martial arts, and belly dancing. Most recently she had begun to seriously work out at the gym, where she regularly received complements on her “guns”. She had been training for a triathlon and was going to compete in her first one at the end of June.

Michelle had fears, but she faced them head on. A fear of travelling alone didn’t stop her from rewarding herself on graduation from university with a trip to Europe: one week in London and one in Rome, all by herself. And fear of the dark didn’t stop her from getting work with G4S as a security guard, initially during the day at a grocery store, before transferring to night security in an office building, all by herself. It took real courage for her to face the boiler room on her own, but she sucked it up and did it. When the company occupying the building moved out of Edmonton, she took the opportunity to transfer with G4S to their armoured division.

In 2009, Michelle met the man she would eventually marry: Victor Shegelski. She had been working with G4S armoured division for a year and had started training new employees. When she was asked to train Victor, things just clicked. She had finally found someone who not only appreciated her weird and wonderful sense of humour, but also encouraged her in all that she did. Their spare time was spent rock climbing, back packing, hiking, camping, skiing, even gold panning. On April 21, 2012, they had a Victorian-themed wedding at Fort Edmonton Park. Michelle showed off her fabulous dress – complete with queen-size bustle – and cracked everyone up with her constant jokes. It was the best day of her life.

Michelle was predeceased by: her grandmother, Elsie Blachut; great-grandmother, Catherine Blachut and grandfather, Ken Haywood.

Michelle’s Funeral Service will be held on Tuesday, June 26th, 1 p.m. at Connelly-McKinley Funeral Home; 10011 – 114 Street, Edmonton. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to: Victims of Violence.
 
 
 
 
In Loving Memory of
Michelle Shegelski
(Maiden: Ernst)
of Edmonton
Jun 29, 1985 - Jun 15, 2012
 
 
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 Print Funeral Details
Funeral Service:
Funeral Service
Tuesday, Jun 26, 2012
1:00 PM
Downtown Chapel
10011 - 114 Street
Edmonton, AB
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