Michelle Lee Merian

At her request, no service will be held. In lieu of flowers, please donate to: https://bestfriends.org/sanctuary. Her family will scatter her ashes in Nova Scotia at a later date—the place she spoke of frequently during her last days.

Michelle, known to most as Mickie, was born May 27, 1951 to Richard Merian and Audrey Wymer, both preceded her in death. She was the eldest of three children. Michelle attended Kenyon College, she was admitted as the historic first class of women at the institution. She married, went on to become a successful Speech Pathologist and raised two children. During her career in Social Services then Risk Management, which was a defining part of who she was, she made many lifelong friends. She mentioned many of them in her last days and thought fondly of her career as her “third child”. She moved to Tampa in May 2021 to retire just 4 miles from her daughter, son-in-law and granddaughter—whom she joined many nights each week for dinner. Mickie deeply loved her new friends in Tampa, including Scott Barrett and Antonio Reyes—who were able to see her in her final days. She loved playing charades during “supper club”, going to the movies, shopping, and travelling. Some of her favorite places around the world were Hallstatt, Austria; Munich, Germany; Rome, Italy; Kuranda, Australia; St. Petersburg, Russia, and Basel, Switzerland.

Mickie had a calm yet tenacious spirit. She had a deep sense of justice and a gracious aura that people sensed when meeting her. Her wicked sense of humor was evident in her last days, stating “I am a tough broad, who raised a tough broad and she raised a tough broad” referring to her daughter Shelby Schoenborn and her granddaughter Chloe Schoenborn.

She is survived by her daughter and best friend, Shelby Ann Schoenborn; her son-in-law (or “big son), Stephan Alexander Nicholas Schoenborn and her granddaughter, Chloe Michelle Schoenborn (who was named after her beloved grandmother). Mickie is also survived by her son, Paul Holmes Van Voris; her daughter-in-law, Bishakha Van Voris and her granddaughter, Calla Van Voris. Finally, she is survived by her brother, Jeffrey Merian; her, sister Susan Merian; her niece, Eva Spahn and her husband, Ben Spahn and their son, Edward Spahn and many extended family members she loved dearly.