Michelle Renee Pestlin

Michelle Renee Pestlin, 40, of Greendale Wisconsin, passed away on Wednesday, July 7th, at the home of her loving family. Michelle was born February 8th, 1981, in Chicago to parents Terrance Pestlin and Marjorie Kirka Pestlin. She was musically inclined her entire life, from screaming lyrics as a child to starring in multiple musicals and talent shows throughout her adolescence. As a young adult, Michelle became the lead singer and songwriter for Forte Diem, as well as a fantastic pianist, who loved to share her talent with friends and family. She was the proud older sister to two siblings, Jess & Kirk, as well as cousin and honorary sibling Allison. Together, they performed plays, put on magic shows, wrote short stories, dominated volleyball, and made life-long neighborhood friends. This core group spent much of their younger days together, pranking friends by leaving canned Spam on their front porch (as a sign of love, of course), filming and performing in a 2-hour long summer video, and recording a fully produced CD of original songs in the family basement. A accomplished graduate of Edgewood College in Madison, Wisconsin, Michelle earned her Bachelor of Arts degree with a major in Organizational Psychology and a minor in French. Despite a more conventional degree, her humor and creativity permeated throughout her editorial and marketing career. Her professional work included comedic writing for Groupon and Second City, contributing and editing at newspapers like the Onion and the Isthmus, and marketing at Bad Penny Films and Greenheart International. All this work led her to her most recent role as Director of Communications for the professional marketing group at Pi Sigma Epsilon. When Michelle wasn’t crafting witty marketing campaigns or writing sketch comedy, she was a loving Nanny to Jaylena and Solene, the children of her good friends Crystal and Joe. Her interests were as eclectic as her personality; and included vampires, Tae Bo, skincare, all things French, hating robots, and making sure every cooked meal was perfectly seasoned. Michelle also mastered multiple improv certifications and wrote, edited, and starred in several stage and video shorts with Scuzznick Productions in Chicago. She loved staying up late and playing board games with family, but somehow always managed to turn a simple card game into a six hour endeavor. Michelle also famously curated gifts for family and friends, sometimes created out of nothing other than one of her brilliant ideas. Above all else Michelle was a beautiful, talented, caring, considerate, creative friend and family member - adored by all. Michelle is survived by her Father, Mother, Siblings Jess (Zac Peterson), Kirk (Matt Maimoni), beloved cousin Allison and numerous aunts, uncles, and friends. Service Times: Friday, July 16th at St. Alphonsus Catholic Church, 6060 S Loomis Road Greendale, WI 53129 9:00 AM - 10:45 AM Memorial Gathering/Visitation 11:00 AM Mass of Christian Burial