Michele Williams Reynolds

It is with great sadness that we announce Leigh Michele Williams Reynolds, age 62, of Ocracoke Island, NC, and formerly of Raleigh, passed away peacefully on Tuesday, April 22, 2025, at LiveWell Brassfield Memory Care Facility. Michele was born in Raleigh on July 1, 1962, at Rex Hospital on Wade Ave., to Philip Allen Williams and Laura Joanne Bridgers Williams.

She is survived by her husband, Russ Reynolds; her mother, Joanne Williams; her sister, Jackie Myers (Kevin); her brother, Rusty Williams (Tammie) and their daughter Janey Williams; her brothers-in-law Trafton Reynolds (Carla) and Gardner Reynolds (Beth), sisters-in-law Claire Behringer (Chad) and Ruth Walker (Kent), her nieces and nephews Carmen Reynolds, Trafton Reynolds II, Owen Reynolds, Campbell Reynolds, and Benton Reynolds, and many other relatives and friends.

Michele was preceded in death by her father, Philip Allen Williams, and her nephew, Wesley Williams.

She graduated from Enloe High School in 1980 and then attended the College of Charleston, where she earned her degree in sociology. Michele then moved back to Raleigh and began working as a social worker at Springmoor Retirement Community. She worked there for over 20 years. She was tailormade for her job there. On her first day, she came home and said, "they don’t have to pay me to do this."

Michele was just as beautiful inside and out. While in college she even worked as a model. She was loved by many and was such a sweet and kind person with a precious soul. Her favorite hobbies were gardening, working with stained glass and horseback riding.

She married Russ in 1999; they spent 25 wonderful years together. They traveled all over the world and in 2017 retired to Ocracoke Island, NC. Almost every day, they took beach rides and golf cart scuds through the village. Michele volunteered at Meals on Wheels and held a part time job doing in-home visits with the elderly on Ocracoke.

In honor and remembrance of Michele, please go horseback riding, plant some flowers or spend time with the elderly.

A Celebration of Michele's life will be held on Friday, May 30th from 4pm to 7pm at The Hibiscus in Raleigh, 3209 Gresham Lake Rd., #146, Raleigh, NC 27615; https://www.thehibiscusraleigh.com

In addition, a 2nd Celebration of Michele's life will be held on Ocracoke Island on Sunday, June 1st, from 4pm to 7pm, at the Ocracoke United Methodist Church Recreation Center, 71 School Road, Ocracoke, NC 27960; https://www.ocracokeumc.com/

In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made in her memory to your local Meals on Wheels. (https://www.mealsonwheelsamerica.org/)

Arrangements provided by Brown-Wynne Funeral Home & Crematory, 300 Saint Mary's

St., Raleigh, NC, 27605, 919-828-4311