Michelle Lingenfelter
Overlake resident, teacher, mother, and foster-parent, Michelle Lingenfelter, grew up as a self-described “country kid”—riding horses, swimming in the creek, and catching tadpoles, all while doing her best to stay healthy in order to avoid her well-meaning grandmother’s concoctions of cod liver oil and herbs that “tasted like pond water but could cure anything!”
With a notable sense of humor, Michelle also describes the “gentle mischief and mayhem” that both she and her fellow “earthquake wearing shoes” best friend wrought throughout their small hometown in Idaho. Yet, it wasn’t all fun and games – she did her fair share of hard work, too. “I worked each fall doing some aspect of the potato harvest. It gave me an appreciation for hard work and a plate full of fries.”
When asked by a high school teacher what she hoped to do when she graduated high school, she simply replied “Something easier than farming. Dishwashing, maybe.” Her teacher suggested college. She went on to obtain a master’s degree in teaching and still, to this day, thanks that man for inspiring her to aim high.
Married to her spouse for more than 30 years now, the two have lived in Overlake with their family for almost 20 of those years. She recalls that while looking for houses, she saw a father on his front lawn playing baseball with his kids and from that moment on, she didn’t want to live anywhere else.
Michelle has two daughters, a foster daughter, and a granddaughter. She has also cared for many foster teenagers over the years and cherishes their continued visits. While she quips that “free time and teachers usually do not go together”, she still enjoys all the simple things with her family and does her best to find time to write down stories that she told her children when they were young and to care for a wide assortment of pets and animals.
Having lost her own mother to cancer at just 20 years old, and having now battled two different cancers, just one year apart, Michelle has adopted the mantra, “Focus on what is in front of you.” She loves the words of Christopher Robin, “You are braver than you believe, stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think. But the most important thing is, even if we’re apart….I’ll always be with you.”
She has felt the love of all those close to her and has learned to allow her family and friends to be a support to her. A particular act of kindness stands out to her – an evening when both a neighbor and a colleague both brough over a tater tot casserole, which reminded her of her childhood. She recalls, “I felt mighty, as if tater tot casseroles were a divine sign that I was going to be okay, because life was still full of potatoes.”
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With a notable sense of humor, Michelle also describes the “gentle mischief and mayhem” that both she and her fellow “earthquake wearing shoes” best friend wrought throughout their small hometown in Idaho. Yet, it wasn’t all fun and games – she did her fair share of hard work, too. “I worked each fall doing some aspect of the potato harvest. It gave me an appreciation for hard work and a plate full of fries.”
When asked by a high school teacher what she hoped to do when she graduated high school, she simply replied “Something easier than farming. Dishwashing, maybe.” Her teacher suggested college. She went on to obtain a master’s degree in teaching and still, to this day, thanks that man for inspiring her to aim high.
Married to her spouse for more than 30 years now, the two have lived in Overlake with their family for almost 20 of those years. She recalls that while looking for houses, she saw a father on his front lawn playing baseball with his kids and from that moment on, she didn’t want to live anywhere else.
Michelle has two daughters, a foster daughter, and a granddaughter. She has also cared for many foster teenagers over the years and cherishes their continued visits. While she quips that “free time and teachers usually do not go together”, she still enjoys all the simple things with her family and does her best to find time to write down stories that she told her children when they were young and to care for a wide assortment of pets and animals.
Having lost her own mother to cancer at just 20 years old, and having now battled two different cancers, just one year apart, Michelle has adopted the mantra, “Focus on what is in front of you.” She loves the words of Christopher Robin, “You are braver than you believe, stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think. But the most important thing is, even if we’re apart….I’ll always be with you.”
She has felt the love of all those close to her and has learned to allow her family and friends to be a support to her. A particular act of kindness stands out to her – an evening when both a neighbor and a colleague both brough over a tater tot casserole, which reminded her of her childhood. She recalls, “I felt mighty, as if tater tot casseroles were a divine sign that I was going to be okay, because life was still full of potatoes.”
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