Michael Angela was born in Tacoma, Washington on June 1, 1974, to Mike and Shirla Schoenecker. She was the first-born child and the first grandchild on the Chipman side, and she made sure that everyone knew that!

Her growing up years were spent in various homes in Tacoma. She has 3 younger siblings, Gabriel, Nicholas and Morgan. Her younger brother, Gabriel, passed when he was just 4 and so Michael learned early on in her life the importance of eternal families. At a young age, she loved styling hair and doing makeup, taking every opportunity that she could to offer makeovers to those around her, sometimes even when the subject was not very willing. She turned that love of making things beautiful into a career, attending cosmetology school during her final year of high school and thrived in that career for many years.

At the age of 26, in early 2000 when she met Brian, she wasn't interested in a relationship with him because he was a "Preemie", or a pre-missionary. After Brian returned home from his mission, they were able to reconnect through a common friend, Mary. They spent some time hanging out as friends and soon started dating and were married for time and all eternity on June 7, 2002, in the Seattle LDS Temple.

Their first child, Vincent James, was born on the 23rd of April 2003 at just 26 weeks gestation, and died just a short time after his birth, living only 45 minutes. Brian and Michael used this loss to cement their relationship and faith in eternal marriage and eternal families and while the loss was heavy and sometimes overwhelming for her, she looked forward to the day when she could be reunited with Vincent in heaven.

They then celebrated the birth of 4 other children, Kyrah, Gabriel, Chenel and Bryce. As a family, they spent time living in Tacoma, Washington, Johnstown, Colorado and then in Richland, Washington. Michael thrived at being a mom and loved spending time with her family. She was fiercely loyal to her family and protected them like any good mama bear would do.

Her son Gabriel was born with some significant health challenges and it was necessary for her to learn sign language in order to communicate with him when he was young. Brian and Michael spent their date nights once a week to take an American sign language class at the community college. Because they knew sign language, Michael and Brian spent many years interpreting in church for the deaf and hearing-impaired members that resided in the area and built relationships with the deaf communities in Colorado and Washington.

Michael lived her life with a zest and a joy that was contagious. Her smile would light up a room and her laugh made everyone else around her laugh as well. Michael was a health and holistic medicine enthusiast. She loved to work out and once she discovered CrossFit, she was hooked. She did things her own way and she was so creative. If she had an outfit that she didn't like, she cut it, sewed it and changed it until it was perfect. She used her creativity often to come up with ingenious solutions to everyday problems. When Gabriel was an infant, he had a difficult time keeping his pacifier in his mouth, so she sewed a bear out of felt that snapped around the pacifier loop and it laid on his chest so he could keep it in his mouth. He also wore hearing aids and glasses so the bands wouldn't fit his tiny head. So, in true Michael fashion, she took a hat and added Velcro so that his hearing aid would stay on his head with his glasses on, while staying hidden from plain view.

Michael was a faithful member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and served valiantly in many callings, including many times in Primary and nursery. Michael loved going to the temple and after moving to the Tri-Cities area, took advantage of having the temple just minutes away from her home. Even through her hardest trials, she always knew that Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ loved her and that They were watching over her. She never doubted God's timing in her life. Her struggles and challenges were more significant than most and she faced them with faith, courage, determination and a stubbornness that only Michael had.

Michael passed away peacefully on the evening of July 22, 2023, after a hard-fought battle with pancreatic cancer. She died the way she lived, with positivity, grace and humility, smiling her way to the very end. She is preceded in death by her grandparents Elmer Francis Schoenecker, Melvin Arnold Chipman and Mona LaVerle Chipman, brother Gabriel Schoenecker and son Vincent James Mackley. She is survived by her husband Brian Thomas Mackley, children Kyrah Joelle, Gabriel Brennan, Chenel Carson and Bryce Thomas, her parents Michael Vincent Schoenecker and Shirla Jo Mims, brother Nicholas P Schoenecker and sister Morgan Rene Julian.

Michael always wanted to provide joy and peace to others in their time of need. In Lieu of flowers, we invite others to give a donation to Chaplaincy Health Care which provides hospice services to the Tri-cities community.

Donation Link

https://tinyurl.com/popofmichael

A Viewing will be held on Friday, July 28, 2023 from 11am to 12 Noon at the Church of Jesus Christ of Later-day Saints (Gage Bldg) 859 Gage Blvd, Richland, WA with a Celebration of Life to begin at 12:30pm. A 3:00pm  Graveside Service will be held at Sunset Lawn Memorial Gardens, Richland, WA