The passion Lori Michalski had for what she set her mind to was unwavering. Self-assured and confident in herself, she naturally gave her all to her friends and family.
“She was supportive of anything I did,” said friend Heather Williams.
“No matter what direction I look at in my bedroom, there lie handfuls of things that I know wouldn’t exist without Lori’s influence,” added friend Melody Garland.
Michalski graduated from Stockbridge High School in 2005 and attended Georgia State University.
An artist at heart, she created graceful paintings and drawings, and she astounded those she knew with her skills in knitting, crocheting, cooking, gardening and decorating.
“Creating art was her life force,” Williams said.
Among Michalski’s interests were languages, astronomy and puppetry arts. She wanted to attend a school for puppetry arts and be a part of Jim Henson’s Creature Shop, Williams said.
Michalski enjoyed working in her rose garden and tending to her Arcadia flowers and African violets. She knitted and crocheted scarfs, gloves and hats for her friends and family.
“Learning new skills came natural to her,” Garland said, “so, unsurprisingly, she wowed me with every new project she tackled.”
Ever a support system for her friends, they remembered when Michalski was asked to decorate a cake for a friend’s wedding, and she did so with no hesitation.
“She cared so much for the well-being of everyone that she loved,” Garland said.
Laura Beth Michalski of Marietta died Wednesday of cancer. She was 28. A memorial service will be held 1 p.m. Saturday at Davis-Struempf Funeral Home Chapel, 1975 East-West Connector, Austell. Davis-Struempf Funeral Home is in charge of services.
“I admire her strength, her passion, her joie de vivre,” Williams said. “She showed me that life was worth living and worth fighting for.”
Through her battle with cancer, Michalski was very much herself and sassy, Williams said. “She was fighting to the end,” Williams said, “and it was amazing.”
Michalski met her husband, Zack Saunders, in high school. The two wed in 2008. “She made me a more well-rounded person,” he said.
She taught by example: For many of her friends, she was their teacher, mother figure, sister and best friend. But for her brother, Mike Michalski, she was his little sister.
“She allowed me to show her things I thought were cool,” Michalski said of his sister. “She let me take care of her, she let me be her big brother.”
Lori Michalski was philosophical, intellectual and inquisitive. She deeply loved her friends and taught them how to love deeply, Williams said.
In addition to her husband and brother, Michalski is survived by her mother, Betty Michalski of Stockbridge; a sister, Kim Mitchell of Waleska; three nieces; and one nephew.
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