Michelle Garland

Michelle Gene Garland

1961 ~ 2021

Michelle Gene Garland, beloved wife, mother, and grandmother passed away at home on February 4, 2021 in Layton, Utah.  She was 59 years old.

Born November 3, 1961 in Bethesda, Maryland, she was raised in Woburn, Massachusetts where she graduated from Woburn Senior High School in 1979.

Very spiritual at a young age, Michelle became a member of the Lutheran Church of the Redeemer in Woburn, Massachusetts, where she met the only love of her life, Kenneth Edward Garland, and eventually married on July 26, 1980. In August 1981, they were blessed with the first of their three children, Shannon.

In 1983, after Ken joined the Air Force, she and her young family relocated to Plattsburgh, New York, near the Adirondack Mountains and the shores of Lake Champlain. In 1984 and 1986, she and Ken welcomed their two sons, Daniel, and Anthony into the family.

As a military wife and full-time mom, Michelle was the glue that kept her family together through some difficult times. She worked hard to raise her kids properly when Ken was away for several months during the Gulf War, while, at the same time, continuing her education and providing a stable home.

In 1991, Michelle completed her education at the Clinton Community College, where she earned her degree in nursing. She subsequently acquired licensure in the states of New York and Vermont and began her career working on the Medical-Surgical unit at the Medical Center Hospital of Vermont in Burlington. Despite a long commute from Plattsburgh to Burlington several days a week, which included a ferry ride across Lake Champlain, Michelle genuinely loved her new career.

In 1994, Michelle and her family once again relocated, this time to Las Vegas, Nevada. During this time, she found work as an inpatient nurse at the Nathan-Adelson Hospice, caring for patients during their final days of life. As emotionally draining as it was, Michelle found her new job extremely rewarding, and when asked how she felt about her work, would often tell people how much she loved it, considering it an honor to be able to provide care and comfort to terminally ill patients and their families.

After Ken’s discharge from the Air Force in 2003, and with their children grown and beginning their lives on their own, Michelle and Ken made their way to the mountains of Colorado, finally settling in the little town of Woodland Park. After living in the city for so long, she made the most of the quieter life in the mountains among the pines and the natural wildlife, spending many happy days hiking, skiing, or simply enjoying the view of the mountains from her front window while knitting, crocheting, or quilting.

One of Michelle’s passions was bread baking, a talent that she perfected while learning to deal with the challenges of working with different yeasts at high altitude to achieve the perfect loaf of bread. Encouraged by the results, she finally realized her dream of owning and operating her own bakery. Her shop, Mama Bear’s Bakery, become known in Woodland Park for producing some of the finest baked goods in the region for local patrons and restaurants, as she crafted all her products by hand each day.

After her two boys, now Army National Guardsmen, were stationed to Afghanistan in 2009, Michelle spent long hours every weekend baking treats and putting together care packages to her sons and their fellow servicemen. According to her boys, she became well-known among the troops for the different flavors snacks she would send them and worked closely with local shippers to get the packages out at a discount.

Michelle eventually continued her nursing career in Colorado by taking a position as a Clinical Research nurse at the Penrose-Saint Francis hospital in Colorado Springs, but found her niche with the Oncology Department, earning certifications as a Certified Breast Cancer Nurse and Oncology Certified Nurse. She was also an active member of the Oncology Nursing Society.

Michelle was an especially charitable soul and often volunteered to organize food or clothing drives for the John Zay Guest House, part of Penrose-St. Francis Foundation, which provided a home-away-from-home for patients living 30 miles or more outside of Colorado Springs with respite, and an opportunity for families to remain together during treatment. Michelle also hand-knitted afghans and hats for cancer patients being treated at the cancer center. She donated generously to organizations such as The American Cancer Society, Shriner Hospitals, March of Dimes and the St. Jude Children’s Research Hospitals.

In her later years, Michelle enjoyed traveling to beach destinations in Maui, Florida, and Mexico with Ken or some of her close friends, spending many happy hours enjoying the ocean and sunshine. She also loved taking long ocean cruises to different destinations in the Caribbean and New England.

Most of all, Michelle considered herself particularly blessed when she finally became a grandmother, taking any opportunity she could to spend time with her “Little Loves”. She finally retired from nursing and moved to Utah with Ken so she could spend more time with her family.

Michelle is survived her husband, Kenneth, her children; Daniel Garland of Fresno, California, Anthony Garland and his wife, Natalia of Las Vegas, Nevada, and Shannon Kamlan, her husband, Frank and her six grandchildren; Makayla, Olivia, Charlie, Ethan, Conor and Gavin.

Arrangements entrusted to Lindquist’s Layton Mortuary, 1867 No. Fairfield Rd., Layton, Utah.