Michele Marie Malik

MALIK, Michele (nee Michalski) passed away peacefully at home on July 5, 2025. She was a few weeks shy of her 70th birthday.

Michele is survived by her husband Douglas Malik, her children Kevin Malik and Lauren (Rob) Ludwig, her grandchildren Mira and Max Ludwig and her siblings Frank, Anthony (Jeanie), Michael (Seema) Michalski, and Jennifer (Randy) Huston. She is also survived by her beloved nieces and nephews, including Alanna (Kevin) Carr, Anthony, Alivia and Ella Michalski. She is preceded in death by her parents Francis and Jereen Michalski.

Michele was a survivor. Over 25 years ago she was diagnosed with adrenal cancer and told by her doctors that she had approximately 12-18 months to live upon diagnosis (and only a 10% survival rating post-surgery). She beat the odds and lived to see both of her children graduate from both high school and college and to see her daughter get married and meet her two beloved grandchildren whom she always told made her "heart happy."

The past few years were tough and full of health challenges for her, including surgery for a benign brain tumor in 2023 and several additional hospitalizations. She struggled with a debilitating case of the autoimmune disease lupus and suffered with complications from recovering from septic shock and an extended ICU stay in 2024. Despite everything, she tried her best to recover and was able to spend the last few months of her life at home. Her family takes comfort in the fact that she is now at peace from her body that often failed to let her live the life that she would have chosen given different circumstances.

Michele loved arts and crafts and was an accomplished paper crafter. She brought much joy to friends and family with her handmade cards over the years. She had a sarcastic sense of humor and a strong moral compass which made her passionate about politics. She loved to collect treasures from cute boutiques and antique stores and to decorate her home for the holidays year-round. She loved her family fiercely and showed it with an often overwhelming, but deeply rooted, concern for their well-being. She was always the first to notify you if there was a food recall announced, and she always requested a "ping" text to make sure that you arrived safely at your destination. Her first thought was always about others.

Her favorite quote was Ecclesiastes 3:1-8: To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven: a time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted; a time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up; a time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance; a time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing; a time to get, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away; a time to rend, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak; a time to love, and a time to hate; a time of war, and a time of peace.

No local memorial service is planned. A remembrance with family will be held in Buffalo, NY, where she grew up, at a later date.

Donations in her memory: https://www.lupus.org/give/ways-to-give

Michele Marie (nee Michalski) Malik