Michele Ann Campbell

Michele Ann Campbell (Groeneveld) (76) of Phoenix, Arizona died from complications of dementia on March 31, 2022, in Paradise Valley, Arizona. She was born in Manchester, New Hampshire on November 19, 1945 to Eugene Hewitt Groeneveld and Barbara Jane Groeneveld. She was very close with her brothers William (Bill) Watson Silk (b.1958) and Steven Valentine Silk (b.1958) throughout her life. Michele was an only child until age 9, when her mother remarried her loving step-father, Albert Silk (d. 1968) and she met her first step-brother, Robert (Bobby) Silk (1943-2019) and they became great friends. Her twin brothers were born in her thirteenth year. She later learned of four other brothers on her father’s side.

Michele did exceedingly well in school from nursery school through college. She graduated from Carl Hayden High School in Phoenix, Arizona in 1963. In the fall of 1963, Michele attended Arizona State University on a scholarship with a major in education and music. She left school after her freshman year in order to raise her first child, Monica Lynn Riggins-Sorenson. While working full time, she attended secretarial school and worked in office administration throughout her career. In addition to her paralegal certification in 1983, she earned her Bachelor of Science from Oklahoma City University in 1992. She was a life-long learner with a variety of interests including poetry, music, and law.

In her early adult life, Michele spent many years attending the University of Colorado taking one class at a time while working full time and mothering Monica, Michael Roger Pellegrim (b.1967), Stephanie Jean Jajdelski-Green (b.1971), Dianna Patricia Jajdelski Cottle (b. 1966) and Walter Joseph Jajdelski (b. 1967).

In 1964, Michele married Dean Dell Riggins (b.1945-d.1990); in 1966, she married Roger Walter Pellegrim (b.1943-d.2017) and gave birth to her beloved son, Michael Roger Pellegrim in 1967. Michele then married Walter Jajdelski (b.1941-d.1989) in 1970 and became step-mother to 3 year old Dianna and 2 year old Wally and then gave birth to Stephanie Jean Jajdelski in 1971. Michele met Timothy Michael Campbell, in 1993, with whom she shared her love of life until his death in 1995.

Michele resided in Hillsdale, Michigan on the Groeneveld family farm in her early childhood. She moved with her mother (Barbara Jane Watson Silk b.1920-d.2003) to Phoenix, Arizona in 1950 where she grew up, leaving for Denver, Colorado in 1969. She raised her family in Denver, Colorado from 1969-1989 and then pursued her career advancement with (Exxon) Mobil Oil in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, and Falls Church, Virginia. She retired to Grand Junction, Colorado with her mother, and then spent the majority of her adult life in Houston, Texas, residing in Kingwood with her brother, Bill Silk. Michele was very social and made many friends at work, church, and in her Kingwood neighborhood.

Michele loved her family, especially her parents, Barbara and Albert Silk; grandparents, Marcella Watson, William Watson, of Owasso, Michigan, L.J Groeneveld, and Florence Groeneveld from Hillsdale, Michigan. She also took great joy in knowing about her grandchildren, Kathryn Alexandra (Sorenson) Mallory (b.1989), Andrew Garrett Christian Sorenson (b.1992-d.2013), Michael Anthony Pellegrim (b. 1992), Bryan Roger Pellegrim (b.1994), Angela Martinez (b. 1983), Dameon Martinez, Roth Hartman, Christopher Hartman, Robert Hartmann, Brittani Jajdelski, Wally Jajdelski, and Mariah Jajdelski. She is also survived by her great-grandchildren Grace Denise Mallory (b.2017), Macie Mae Pellegrim (b.2017), and Maximillian Adam Pellegrim (b.2021), as well as Zoe, Saphira, Emma, Grayson, and Adalyn.

Services for Michele are planned at Kingwood Funeral Home, in Houston, Texas on May 13 at 1:00 with Deacon Walters from St. Martha’s Catholic Church.

Michele will be remembered for her curiosity, creativity, her passion for learning, her love of music, and her love of family.

Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.kingwoodfuneralhome.com for the Campbell family.