Former Enumclaw-area resident Michele Walton died May 19, 2017. She was 69.

She was born Dec. 10, 1947, in Seattle to Joseph and Irene Walton. The family moved in 1954 to a home just north of Enumclaw, where she graduated from high school in 1964. After finishing two years of college she pursued a career as a flight attendant, working two years for Pan American Airlines and then TWA. In the 1980s she moved to Long Island, New York, and worked for O’Suzannah’s Boutique in Westhampton Beach for more than 25 years. During that time she observed the plight of abused and abandoned animals, co-founding the River Shelter Volunteer Program, an animal advocacy organization.

She is survived by a brother, Michael, and sister-in-law Sharon. She was preceded in death by her husband Tony.