From Michelle’s earliest days on earth, her kind, gentle spirit left an impression on everyone who had the privilege of knowing her.
 
Michelle Lee Simmons was born in Chicago in 1969 and moved to Massachusetts in 1970. Her family moved back to the Midwest several years later, living in Cedarburg, Grafton, and Beaver Dam, WI, where she completed elementary and middle school.
 
In 1983, the family relocated to South Florida, and she graduated from Cooper City High School in 1987. After high school, she worked full time in the insurance industry while pursuing her love of art, studying graphic design at the Art Institute of Ft. Lauderdale, receiving her AA degree in 1991. At her first job as a designer, she befriended a co-worker, Lisa Kuehnle, whom she introduced to her brother, Scott. Lisa is now is his wife of nearly 20 years. Right after Hurricane Andrew in 1992, Michelle relocated to the Orlando area, and has worked as a designer for several firms since then. Michelle met her husband, Mark Griffin, in 2003 and they were married in 2005.
 
Michelle was a wonderful mother, devoted wife, terrific sister, talented artist, and loyal friend. She was a quick wit and had a great sense of humor.  She enjoyed art and music, but most of all she loved her family and friends. She absolutely adored her daughter Kennedi and step-daughter Hannah. She was so proud of their accomplishments and the wonderful young women they had become. Her sister Jen was also her best friend, and their kids spent so much time together that they became more like siblings than cousins. Michelle made friends wherever she went, and remained close with her friends from Wisconsin and South Florida, while forging new friendships in Orlando. Her friends and colleagues remember her generosity, creativity and genuine care for others.
 
The bright flame of Michelle's life was tragically extinguished by a massive hemorrhagic stroke she sustained on May 30, 2014, and she passed into the next life on the following day. She was surrounded by her immediate family as she was welcomed into God's loving embrace.