Michele Haigwood, lovingly known as Chele to her closest family and friends, departed this life on Monday, January 22, 2024. Chele was born July 10, 1969 in Rockford, Illinois, and spent the next 54 years teaching her family and friends the definition of strength and resilience.
She was Valedictorian of the 1987 graduating class at Tuckerman High School, and attended Arkansas State University. Chele was usually the smartest person in any room. She was a voracious reader, and knew an enormous amount of information.
Chele worked at Kroger several years, and was known for her personality and hard working ways. During her time there, her co-workers and customers alike loved her. Even though she had not worked there in many years, she would still enjoy visiting with her former co-workers and friends.
Chele had a small circle of people whom she loved with all her heart. She was a loyal friend who would go to battle for someone she loved without a moment’s hesitation. Chele never had children of her own, which is a travesty, because she loved children and looked after them with great care. She would have made a wonderful mother.
Over the years, health conditions wracked her body, but she was fierce and fought until the very end.
She was a loving, giving person who took great pride in her friendships. She spent hours embroidering gifts for her family and friends. Chele had an eye for detail, and the gifts she made were beautiful and loved.
She was preceded in death by her father, Jerry Wesley Haigwood.
Chele is survived by her mother, Lynn (Woodson) Morgan of Tuckerman; her grandmother, Kathleen Miller of Walnut Ridge; sister, Deanna Smith and husband, Jason, of Tuckerman; two nephews, Dylan Smith and Brandon Smith; her aunt, Carol Schrable of Walnut Ridge; two honorary nephews, who considered her a second mother, Logan Hunt and wife, Lexie of McKinney, Texas, and Ethan Hunt and wife, Belle, of Powhatan, and their daughter, Konlee Kade; her cherished friends, who were with her every step of the way, Terri Gillette and husband, Bob, of Newport, and Karen Dunavin Raibley and husband, Mike, of Jonesboro; and her stepmother, Patsy Haigwood.
Friends may visit at Jackson’s Newport Funeral Home, Thursday, noon to 1:00 p.m. Graveside services will follow at 2:00 p.m. Thursday at Lawrence County Memorial Park Cemetery in Walnut Ridge.
