Michelle Ann Axbey

Obituary

Michelle Ann Axbey was born in Scarborough to Yolanda (née  Challenor) and Len Axbey. She was a precocious child who loved to read or, as she would later say, a nerd. When her sister Jennifer was born 6 years later she took to being an older sister immediately with a mix of love and bossiness that, spurned by Yolanda and Len’s divorce, transformed into helping her mom raise Jennifer. Middle school and early high school (Cedarbrae) were socially difficult for Michelle, as it is for all people of quality. Around the time Yolanda met Ray, who would become Michelle’s step-dad, she eventually found her peer group, and her academics suffered accordingly. After high school she moved out to stay in Toronto, get a cat and pursue her love of film by going to work at Jumbo Video, rising to night manager and memorizing the whole of Ferris Bueller's Day Off. The video store job didn’t last, but her sweet ‘bubbala’ Otis, was her steadfast feline companion for 18 years.

Around the same time she moved out she was diagnosed with Essential Thrombocytosis and was told by the doctor that she “wouldn’t live to see 40” which is a wild thing to say to someone who's eighteen. While this disease and its transformation into the cancer Myelofibrosis shaped the course and end of her life, it never defined her. Anticipating the end of the rental video boom, she went to work as a courier in the core. It was there that she met her best friend, Andy Ward whom she later married. She eventually walked away from the courier business and through Andy she began work at the law firm, Birchall Northey. She became so indispensable there that they started calling her a law clerk, and what she didn’t already know she figured out or delegated. While holding down that job full time (or the courier job, sources are unreliable), she went back to high school, which is the bravest thing someone in their twenties, or any age can do. There she got the credits that would allow her to study at Sheridan to become an RMT and eventually a teacher of anatomy. For a period of time she honored her Bajan ancestry by doing all three jobs concurrently, though rarely simultaneously.

In 2001 she and Andy divorced, but never stopped being the best of friends. Some time and relationships  after that she met the man who became the love of her life, Adam Bolduc.  They married in 2006 with Adam taking her last name. In 2007 they had a daughter, Lucy and in 2009 a son, Nico. They were the whole of her heart, her love and her joy.  She also held a very special place in her heart for her sister's children, Liam and Caitlyn. Much later she got a dog named Dipper who she didn’t want, but loved in spite of herself. After law clerking at 3 different firms, Michelle tired of the stress and wage gap of clerking in corporate law and sought a career change - a brave thing to do in your forties, or any age. In 2021 she joined the Resource Productive and Recovery Authority for Ontario and worked her way from Compliance Officer to First Nation Community Liaison and Knowledge Management Lead.

You’d think between all these jobs and being a mom and having a chronic blood cancer that Michelle wouldn't have time for anything else but you’ve already peripherally taken in the size of this obituary, so you know that’s not true. She dabbled in breakdancing, loved travelling, refused to camp, tried boxing for a bit, loved roller skating so much she joined a derby team, remained a voracious reader, fell in love with west coast swing dance but most of all she crafted. Sewing, quilting, collage, needlepoint. It took her a long time to accept herself as an artist but when turned 50 she finally started to embrace it.

Her disease took a turn in late 2024 and after a trip to New Orleans in early 2025 her treatment increased in intensity. This led to a risky but necessary stem cell transplant which led to complications. There’s no need to dwell on that; we know her story ends far too early. I mention it only to highlight the excellence of care that her team at Princess Maragaret provided and that no one really knows how much she endured physically and mentally without ever truly giving up hope. Despite all these facts of her life, you still might not have a sense of who Michelle actually was by reading this. Her friend Karen captured her essence perfectly.

When I think of Muh, it’s all flashes of colour—stacks of patterned fabrics, vintage jewellery, a campy movie, a fancy cocktail in a coupe. Nobody took more joy in these little things than Muh, and nobody was more fun about it. She’d see something beautiful and gasp, eyebrows raised. And then she’d probably hold it up close to her face and say: So tiny! Tasty cocktail! Delicious coffees! Everything she loved had a nickname, especially people. And nothing would make you feel more special than when she called you by her name for you, your little inside joke together.

I will hear her voice in my head always, especially when I remember to take joy in all these tiny, crafty, delicious things. I will see her eyes light up and hear her laughing. She was funny; she was creative; she was so smart. She knew that finding joy in tiny things is anything but trivial. She knew it’s how you craft a rich and meaningful life and share it with others. And, oh, how she brought meaning to mine.

Michelle is predeceased by her dads Len Axbey and Ray Lapointe. She is survived by her husband, Adam; her children, Lucy and Nico; her mom, Yolanda; her sister, Jennifer; her nephew Liam and her niece Caitlyn; her best friend Andy and so many more who love her and will miss her dearly.

For those wishing to do so, memorial donations in Michelle's name to the Princess Margaret Cancer Centre , would be greatly appreciated by her family

This is a private event for people who want to see Michelle one last time and say goodbye, or to support someone devastated by her death. If you were planning on attending out of a sense of obligation or propriety, with all the kindness in our hearts, we ask that you do not attend. Formal attire is not required, please dress in whatever you are comfortable in.

Visitation

Service

Cremation