Lisa Ann (Ostdick) Michaels

Lisa Ann Michaels, 68, passed away peacefully at her home in Smithfield after a long and courageous fight with ovarian cancer. Lisa was a loving wife, mother and grandmother who adored her family and friends with all her heart. She is deeply loved and missed by all.

 Lisa was born in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan and grew up in Elgin, Illinois, the oldest of 5siblings (2 sisters & 2 brothers). Her dad was of German ancestry, and her Mom was Polish. Both came from solid Catholic backgrounds, so along with her siblings she went through 12 years of Catholic schools. After graduating from High School, she went on to 4 more years at the College of St. Benedict, a Catholic women’s college, in St. Joseph, MN. Lisa’s husband, Bill went to the companion men’s school, St. John’s University in nearby Collegeville. Lisa graduated with a B. S. in Natural Science and Bill with a B.S. in Biology.

Lisa and Bill were married a week after she graduated from St. Ben’s. After the wedding they drove to Boron, CA (a wide spot in the Mojave Desert) where Bill had a job in a lab at U. S. Borax. They moved a year later to Hesperia, CA and both of their daughters (Sarah and Amy) were born during the 9 years that they lived there. In 1987 Lisa and Bill moved to Smithfield and have never regretted it! While the girls were growing up Lisa helped out in their classrooms as room mother or art mother. Lisa started a Girl Scout troop when Sarah was in first grade, and continued as troop leader of her Brownie and Junior troops, and later Amy’s Daisy troop. She then became a Troop Organizer, and served as the Cookie Delivery Drop for the north end of the valley for a number of years.

Bill worked as an Industrial Hygienist for Morton Thiokol (as it was originally called) and retired from there (by then it had become Orbital ATK) in 2014. Lisa worked at The Greenhouse for 9 years, and then accepted a position as a Lab Technician for the USDA-ARS-Forage & Range Research Lab on the USU campus. After working there for 15 years Lisa retired in 2019. 

Over the years Lisa developed a few hobbies & interests. One of them is baking, and it is probably the one most people know about, particularly the desserts. She really enjoys making elegant ‘Paris Show-stoppers’. Her deserts repeatedly won awards at the chocolate festival. After winning the professional division at the chocolate festival she retired from the competition.

Sewing is something she started when our girls were small, as a lot of clothes ‘off the rack’ didn’t fit them. So she learned to make a lot of their clothes. Other hobbies of Lisa’s were Genealogy/Family History, Gardening and Insect Collecting. Yes, she loved most insects! Lisa collected and studied them since she was a child. At various times our kitchen counter was host to caterpillars, beetles, chrysalises/cocoons, crickets or praying mantises, and anything else that looked interesting. Our freezer often held random small containers of dead insects, waiting to be pinned out or studied – you had to be careful what you opened! As a teenager Lisa gave her sister Julie a pair of dead stag beetles in a small box. This started a tradition where Lisa and Julie would randomly send the beetles to each other for various holidays. This tradition continued for the rest of her life.

Lisa shared her hobbies and love of nature with our daughters and granddaughters so now they too enjoy cooking and nature. Lily, the oldest granddaughter, recently made and elegantly decorated a cheese cake that any adult would be proud to claim. Ella, the youngest granddaughter, has Lisa’s knack for art and created many pieces of artwork for Lisa. Lisa was so proud of our daughters and granddaughters. All of them brought great joy to Lisa.

Lisa started attending St. John’s Episcopal Church in the spring of 2016. One of the first services she attended was a ‘Bright Sunday’ Jazz service – she commented that it was so different from any other service she had ever attended! Lisa loved the smaller community at St. John’s, and was impressed by the warm and welcoming members. Lisa often commented that one of the best descriptive words for St. John’s would be “inclusive” – and the members really embrace that.

Lisa was preceded in death by both of her parents. She is survived by her husband Bill, daughters Sarah (Brady) Bingham, Amy (Adam) Garner, granddaughters Lily and Ella Garner, sister Julie (Dan) Trembath, brother Wayne (Monica) Ostdick, brother Corey (Eva) Ostdick and sister Lori (Jerry) Velikonja.

 A celebration of life will be held at St John’s Episcopal Church in Logan on March 20th at 11:00 A.M. In lieu of flowers please donate to CAPSA of Logan or your favorite charity.