Michelle Lynn Fritz, 46, departed this life Wednesday, October 27th. She passed unexpectedly, but peacefully in her sleep in the company of her loving husband Joseph Fritz and children Tucker Fritz and Gracie Fritz of Westminster, CO. Friends and family are invited to attend Michelle's Celebration of Life service on Sunday, Nov 7th, 2021 at 1:00 pm at the Knight Museum and Sandhills Center, 908 Yellowstone Avenue in Alliance. Light refreshments at the Knight Museum are to follow. Please come and share your memories of Michelle. Memorials may be sent in care of the Shriners Children's Hospital or the donors choice. For more information contact Kyren Gibson, 308-760-7118.
Michelle was born in 1975 in Alliance, NE. She was the first born to her parents James and Twila Conley. Michelle was born with Spinabifida which is a condition that causes the spinal cord not to develop fully in the womb. This also caused paralysis of her legs. Michelle underwent many surgeries in her young life to help straighten the severe curvature of her spine. Her care was provided by Shriners Children's Hospital in Minneapolis, MN. All of Shriners services were provided for free to Michelle's family and she received loving and attentive care during her many long stays at their hospital. Michelle's diagnosis and treatments never slowed her down though, and she grew into a highly capable, fiercely independent, incredibly beautiful, and intelligent woman. During high school she worked at Highland Park Nursing Home as a weekend receptionist and as a disc jockey at KCOW. Michelle graduated from Alliance High School in 1993. She went on to attend Chadron State College where she received her Bachelor's in accounting and business management. During college she worked as a secretary for a local church. Michelle worked and lived in Alliance for a few years after college as a legal assistant for attorney Leo Dobrovolny as well as in marketing at Box Butte General Hospital. Michelle loved her hometown, but her heart was in the city, and she moved to Fort Collins in 2000 and later Denver. While in Denver, Michelle was introduced to the love of her life, Joseph Fritz. In 2007 they were married and had their son Tucker Fritz followed three years later by their daughter Gracie Fritz.
Michelle's favorite hobby was reading and had a book collection to rival any library. She liked living in Denver for the amenities, but she was especially drawn to the majestic mountain views. Michelle and her family enjoyed experiencing nature and taking trips to Gardens of the Gods and Colorado Springs. She visited Nebraska regularly to spend time with her family and let them love and spoil her children. She enjoyed date nights out with her husband to their favorite restaurant 3 Margaritas and loved watching the 4th of July pyrotechnic displays he helped put on for cities around Denver. Michelle was incredibly meticulous, which her very disorganized family gave her heck about constantly. She was habitually late but came by it naturally as a strong family trait. Her favorite thing in this world was being a mother to two beautiful children, whom she raised to be thoughtful, smart, responsible, sweet, and like their mother, just a little sassy.
She will be remembered and honored by her loving husband Joseph Fritz, son Tucker Fritz and daughter Gracie Fritz. Michelle will also be dearly missed by her parents Jim and Twila Conley, her brother Cody (Beretta) Conley, sister Kyren (Chris) Gibson, and her nephews Dylan and Jaxon Conley. Michelle was part of a large and loving extended family and will be missed dearly by her favorite aunt Bobbi (Tom) Mareina, her cousin Pamela Edoff and children, Steven (Michelle) Edoff and children, her aunt Bonnie (Byford) Avery, her cousin Tari Jo (Tucker) Pankowski and children, and Cousin Christine (Steve) Price and their children, as well as numerous aunts and uncles and cousins.