Michelle Lee Gordon 1977-2014
Our dear niece Michelle has passed away. Michelle Lee Gordon, 36, Scotia, NY, passed into the arms of the Lord on January 1, 2014 at her residence with her loving family present after a courageous battle with colon cancer. She was born on October 31, 1977 in Glens Falls, NY and was the daughter of William M. (Connie Reynolds) Gordon of Burnt Hills, NY and Jo (Hill) Landolfo (Paul's sister) of Scotia, NY. Michelle was on the cover of our May issue with her children playing in the stream just above Buttermilk Falls, Alplaus Creek in 2012 soon after she was diagnosed. Michelle was a graduate of Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake High School,class of 1995. She received her Bachelor's Degree in marketing from SUNY Albany. She worked for the NYS Department of Mental Health in Albany as a budget analyst until retiring due to her illness. A determined advocate, Michelle established a non-profit organization, Yes We Can Sir to raise cancer awareness. She was the beloved wife of Marcus W. Frechette; loving and devoted mother of Marcus William Frechette, Jr. and Sophia Christine Frechette; caring sister of Jennifer (Gary) Wells of Hudson Falls, NY, Sandra (Darren) Bratlie of Ft.Collins,CO and Jessica (Ryan) Seifert of New York,NY; adored granddaughter of Paul and Virginia Hill of Scotia, NY, Mildred A. Gordon and the late William Gordon, Jr.of Glenville, NY, and Alice E.Reynolds and the late Max Z. Reynolds; daughter-in-law of Martha Frechette and the late John Frechette of Albany,NY;sister-in-law of Donna (Michael) Schraa of Scotia,NY,John (Laura) Frechette of Rensselaer,NY,Ronald Frechette of Albany, NY, Sandra Tolbert of Scotia, NY and Fran (Vosco) Hicks of New York, NY. Her Aunt and Uncle are Paul Hill Jr (my husband), and Janice (Hill) Dejordy (his sister).They are the parents of her loving cousins,Jaime (Hill) and Christopher Giglio, Stacy Hill, Paul and Mercedes Hill, Danielle and Dustin Britcher, Matt and Kate Whaley. All parents of new set of cousins, Joshua and Christopher Giglio and their angel brother Jason Giglio, Paul James Jr. and Jackson Whaley, all who reside nearby. She was the “favorite”Aunt of numerous nieces and nephews. As we celebrate Michelle's life, we want you to know she was a courageous and wonderful person. A mother, a wife, a sister, a niece, a cousin,a granddaughter,and a friend.Michelle held all of those roles with grace and always thought of others before herself. She fought with all that she had to beat cancer, never giving up, never giving in. Michelle's parents, her mother Jo (Paul's sister), her father Bill and his wife Connie (her second mother) were a formidable team. They all stayed on task, with one mission,to give Michelle every fighting chance available to beat the cancer.Accompanying her daughter to treatments and surgeries from here to Baltimore, Jo never wavered, her daughter came first. Bill and Connie helped keep the ends tied for Marc and the children while they were away for treatment. Marc comforted his family and remained strong for his children and wife during the toughest of times. He is a wonderful Dad and husband, the love they shared will live on forever. Her family and friends will miss her dearly. They grew up together and were incredibly close. Michelle often spoke of the amazing support network that she had throughout her battle and sympathized with those who fought similar battles alone. Michelle's courage and determination to help others was the inspiration for Yes We Can Sir.org, a non-profit organization.Michelle was in the process of forming this organization to help others who were dealing with “any”cancer diagnosis, not just colon cancer. For more information go to www.yeswecansir.org.