Born: January 26th, 1953
Married: September 24th, 1971
Baptized: July 29th, 1978
Died: March 10th, 2022
Michelle was preceded in death by her father and mother, Al and Jo Hopkins. She is survived by her big sister Dixie Peterson and her little brother Jon Hopkins; her husband, David Dent; their son Ed Dent and daughter-in-law Aishi Dent, works of art and the family dog named Sadie.
The paintings on this page are Michelle Dent originals.
Michelle was born in Wenatchee and grew up in East Wenatchee in a little house near the Columbia River. She helped her dad build a house on a cherry orchard around the age of 13. Tasked with cleaning old bricks all summer long, when they finished building the house, she received a 13-inch color TV of her own in her bedroom with white shag carpet and frilly wallpaper and a record player that played The Beatles every day. Surrounded by cherry trees, she continued to grow up with her mom, dad, and a little brother named Jon.
She graduated from Eastmont high school in the spring of 1971. Later that year, she married David Dent, who would be her husband of fifty years. David and Michelle moved around central Washington for a few years, living in homes between the Yakima and Okanogan Valleys. They returned to the Wenatchee valley in 1975. In the fall of 1976, their son, Ed Dent, was born in the Wenatchee hospital.
Now a mother, Michelle felt an overwhelming desire for family and friends and to have a personal relationship with God. She began investigating the local religions in Wenatchee. Her search didn’t last long because her prayers were answered one day when there was a knock at the door. Her need for a relationship with God had not yet been satisfied, so she agreed to a free home Bible study with Jehovah’s Witnesses. Michelle felt found by Jehovah, and they quickly became close friends. In the summer of 1978, Michelle was baptized as one of Jehovah’s Witnesses at the Seattle King Dome.
Michelle and David lived in the same house in Wenatchee for 21 years as they raised their son Ed. She had a few pets, including a black cat named Stubby, an orange Persian cat named Pavarotti, and a little Pomeranian dog named Victoria. Among many passions, she worked for Bonetti’s Pasta making pasta for the fine dining establishments of Wenatchee during the 80s. Delicious pasta and salads became a typical specialty at the Dent house. Michelle loved being a mother and diligently raised her son to know Jehovah despite being in a religiously divided family. That is until her husband, David, was baptized in the fall of 1985.
Michelle deeply desired to share her friendship with Jehovah with others. David lovingly supported Michelle’s ministry as she volunteered as a regular pioneer in the mid to late 80s. Since that time, she has been an auxiliary pioneer often, and since Davids’s retirement, they have volunteered their time together to share their hope and friendship with Jehovah by knocking on people’s doors. Of the many privileges they have enjoyed, hosting the congregation book study in their home was a highlight of their week that brought many blessings.
In 1997 Michell and David left their son in Wenatchee to live by the sea in the city of Anacortes. There Michelle adopted two sibling rescue cats named Popeye and Olive Oil. These emotionally damaged cats captured Michelle’s heart and were rarely seen by anyone else, but with Michelle, they felt secure and free to be normal cats.
Michelle loved living by the sea; the calm yet mighty ocean helped her feel closer to Jehovah. She often enjoyed walks on the beach that inevitably became adventures in collecting seashells. Each one is special and unique to her in its way. While in Anacortes, she explored her passions for poetry, painting, mixology, and other forms of artistic expression.
In Anacortes, Michelle loyally and lovingly supported her husband, David, as they became involved in caring for the local Anacortes Congregation of Jehovah’s Witnesses. Many individuals looked up to them as role models and mother and father figures. They continued to host the weekly congregation book study until it was discontinued in 2008. Twenty years of weekly having friends fill their house to learn about Jehovah. These were joyful times for everyone, as Michelle shared her bond with Jehovah, friends became family, and loneliness became a stranger.
In 2006, Michelle’s family suddenly grew much more extensive as her son married Aishi Urio. Michelle felt a new desire to know that side of the family.
Michelle and David called Anacortes home for 19 years until 2016, when they moved to Tacoma. Michelle quickly made many new friends in Tacoma as they attended the Point Defiance congregation of Jehovah’s Witnesses. They moved to Tacoma to be closer to their son Ed and his wife, Aishi.
In Tacoma, Michelle found joy in forming strong bonds with Aishi’s side of the family. Michelle became known as “Grama Michelle” by Ivy and Elodie Sjoden, the children of Aishi’s sister, Anande, and her husband, Zack. She loved being close to family and surrounded by friends. Content and feeling blessed by her God and friend, Jehovah, Michelle did not feel anything was missing, but she was wrong.
Michelle knew what it is like to search for friends, family, and God in such a lost and confused world, so she continued to make the ministry a priority in her life, searching for new friends of Jehovah. Michelle was especially good at slowly revealing Jehovah to someone in a way that they did not feel overwhelmed. As a good listener, Michelle would patiently ease a person’s apprehensions about what Jehovah is like. Then she would gently step aside as they discovered that everything they loved about her was also a reason to love Jehovah.
Unknown to Michelle, someone was searching for her while she was helping people find Jehovah.
Covid 19 started to sweep the globe in the winter of 2019. By late spring, after a few months of social distancing, Michelle felt separated from family and friends. One day in May 2020, Michelle’s brother Jon, called her and said, “You better sit down for this.”. Michelle and Jon discovered they had a long-lost, full-blooded older sister named Dixie. Looking at pictures of Dixie felt like looking in a mirror. In the middle of an isolating pandemic, Michelle was found by a blessing she never imagined was possible. Very quickly, the highlight of Michelle’s days was spending time with her big sister and her niece, Dixie’s daughter Dana. From feeling isolated to feeling found, Michelle felt blessed.
During the evening of March 10th, 2022, as Michelle Dent sat on the couch texting with Dixie, something she loved doing, she fell asleep in death.
Currently, Michelle lives in Jehovah’s memory. Her hope for the future is to live on the Earth restored to paradise, forever surrounded by the family and friends she so dearly loved. That hope will soon be a reality.
Michelle loved art, poetry, and all things creative. The Bible is full of poetry and creativity. By reading it daily, Michelle felt close to its author, the most creative person in the universe, Jehovah.
Michelle loved this poetic verse from the Bible.
“If a man dies, can he live again?
I will wait all the days of my compulsory service
Until my relief comes.
You will call, and I will answer you.
You will long for the work of your hands.”
Into The Woods 