Denise G. Willems Michels

Denise passed away on February 1, 2013. Beloved wife of Frederick for 60+ years. Beloved mother of the late Paulette Askren, Anne-Marie (Tom) Bryant, Denise Strope, and Yvette (Bart) Gregoroff. Loving grandmother of Julie, the late Carrie, Scott, Yvette Bryant and Renee. Loving great grandmother of Ashley, Klarisa, Derrek, and Matthew.

The family will receive friends for a Visitation at Harry J. Will Funeral Home, Plymouth Road (Just east of Beech Daly) in Redford, Michigan on Monday, February 4, 2013 from 3-9pm with a 4pm Rosary, led by the Womens' Altar Society of St. John Bosco, and a 7pm Scripture Service, led by Deacon Ziggy Kucarek.

The Funeral Mass, led by Father Sal Briffa, will be at 10:00am on Tuesday, February 5, 2013 with guest arrival beginning at 9:30am at St. John Bosco Catholic Church, Beech Daly Road, (at West Chicago) in Redford, Michigan.

Denise will be laid to rest in Parkview Memorial Cemetery, Livonia, Michigan with a Memorial Luncheon to follow where friends may share their stories of Denise with her family.

The following story on the life of Denise was submitted by her daughter…

My mother was an extraordinary woman. She had many adventures in her life. She was intelligent, self disciplined and strove to raise her daughters to be independent and of good character. Having overcome various challenges herself, she was an empathetic woman who had a soft spot for those in need. She had a gift for always seeming to have the right thing to say in any situation. That trait combined with her small size and French accent made her easy to remember for anyone that met her. My father has said more than once that the best thing he ever did was to marry her. How many of us say that about our spouses? My parents were married 65 years.

Denise was born in Arlon, Belgium. She attended l’Universite de Louvain in Liege, Belgium. Arlon is near where the Battle of the Bulge took place during WWII. She met my father while serving coffee and doughnuts to American G.I.’s as a Red Cross volunteer. My father inquired what time she got off work so that he could walk her home. Not interested, she told him an hour later than the actual time. He showed up an hour early and the rest is history.

She came to the United States to marry and they settled in Detroit to take advantage of the post war economic boom enjoyed by the Big Three. Though petite in size, she contained huge amounts of enthusiasm and courage, or as my father would say, ‘spunk’. She needed to have spunk to go to a foreign country, barely speaking the language, and not knowing when she would see or speak to her family again. This was way before the age of global communications through the internet, email, cell phones and texting. She had no idea if my father’s family would accept her. She came anyway.

My mother had many adventures while mastering the English language and assimilating into American culture. She often shared these stories at the dinner table much to the amusement of my father and later her daughters. My mother didn’t want to forget her French language capabilities and would speak to us girls mostly in French with us responding in English, much to the wonderment of our friends. Denise became a U.S. citizen and was proud of her citizenship. She said more than once that she knew more about the history of this country then some of the people born here!

After she married, Denise joined the then-known French War Brides Club of Detroit, where she served as treasurer and then president for many years. She was recognized for her work by the French Consulate receiving an award in the mid 1990’s. She was also a long-time member of the Alliance Francaise de Detroit and participated in many local Francophile community events. This was her life’s passion. She devoted much time and energy to these organizations and cherished the many friends she came to know through them.

Denise and Fred are long-time parishioners at St. John Bosco Church. Denise served on the parish council and was also a member of the Altar Society. She was well known in the parish community and developed many good friendships there as well.

Denise loved to swim, ride her bike, walk, and work in her garden. She embraced healthy living before it was fashionable. Denise’s other pastimes included reading. She kept abreast of current events, and national and local politics. She enjoyed passionate, intelligent discussions on these topics and wasn’t one to shy away from them. My mother was a courageous, outspoken woman. Her kind heart, quick wit, humorous outlook on life, sometimes sharp tongue, strong opinions, and beautiful French accent will be missed by all that knew and loved her.

The family would like to thank the wonderful caregivers who made the last years of her life more comfortable and meaningful: Alice Chrzan, Elsa Tavian, and Raquel Garduno. These wonderful ladies were a big help and we were lucky to have them.

In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to the St. Vincent de Paul Society 2929 E. Grand Blvd., Detroit, Michigan 48202 (313) 972-3100 www.svdpusa.org

or

St. John Bosco Catholic Church 12170 Beech Daly, Redford Township, Michigan 48239 (313)937-9690