I was Michelle's nursing attendant for 20 years, and legal wife (married by city of Key West) for 15 years, divorced one year. Above hate mail indicates how nasty and sophisticated a litigant Michelle was, no matter how heroic, making a simple divorce case (no kids, no joint assets except one I'm still fighting that she allegedly defrauded me out of) so complicated no attorney in town would take it (My last name opened NO legal doors in Key West--at least a dozen attorneys sympathized and showed me the door, after billing me for consultation fees.) I'm living on $900. month disability, homeless, and she'd been getting $6,0000. month with huge benefits for combat-disabled vets. She smoked 3 packs of cigarettes for 30 years, plus her emphysema was congenital, yet she managed to claim 100 % service-connected disability. The veracity of the medals I couldn't vouch for, but she had a case of them, although I woudn't put it past her to exaggerate. I know she served a difficult position living with the South Vietnamese and advising their military. She was crushed by the experience, and was a peace advocate the rest of her life. We travelled to VietNam many years later where she found some closure seeing women smiling, nicely-dressed, not having to sell themselves to survive. Is she a woman? Only a very sophisticated transsexual expert with experience with narcissistic personality disorder could possible tell. Michelle never bothered going through proper channels. She always had it her way. That can make a person a hero, when the cause they are fighting for is righteous, and I'll grant her extreme effectiveness, dogged determination, and technically ethical if egregiously abhorant human behavior in court. I believe her mental condition deteriorated with chronic lack of oxygen. She wasn't a sweetheart by any means, but she could be quietly generous and sympathetic and even socialble--if anyone remembers our annual Holiday Parties that went on for about 10 years until we were both too sick to pull it off, and the caterer I heard refused to work with Michelle another year. Hearsay only. Because of her mental disorder, she became convinced I was her enemy so after 20 years of, in her own words, 'keeping her alive way beyond her predicted date of death (19 years ago)' the woman I legally married, loved with all my heart, had beautiful times with, and owe so very much knowledge of nature, astronomy, and photography to, seemed to turn on me, as she was convinced I'd turned on her. This is not the truth, but the truth is too complicated for this space. Half empty AND half full. It's not for me to judge. There are stories on top of stories. Yet I've never seen such rancor after an obituary. You know, it helps me...I've been caught between honest mourning, people telling me I should be grateful I'm free of the abuse, and even people who believed all the malicious lies my legal same-sex spouse told publically about me for months after she kicked me out (I am also disabled) and believe I feel as hateful as some of the people writing above. I defended her for years, softened her tone, tried to teach her to be a friend and keep a friend. In the end she turned everyone away, except people paid to service the house. This was told to me by many people directly--they were afraid of Michelle because of her sarcasm and bitter tongue. I thought I could change her. Lesson learned. I won't dispute the anger directed toward her. I will dispute anyone who thinks she made money off the ADA. If anyone DOES have such proof, it's your responsibility to come forward with it, lay it on the table once and for all, and any such pots of gold or golden goose eggs should probably go to a non-profit organization for disabled people. Overall, she was difficult, but she was worth it. I do mourn her. I do miss her terribly. I'm heartbroken she never lifted the 'no contact' order that would have allowed me to say 'good-bye.' Any personal questions, you can find me on FaceBook, on the Coconut Telegraph or under my name.

There is no doubt that Michelle was a controversial figure. But it would be hard to argue cogently that she didn't serve both her country and her community. Though Michelle and I differed in our views about the role litigation should play in advocating for the rights of people with disabilities, I will be the first to admit that she did far more to increase ADA standard accessibility in our county than any other resident I might name. It may be that some shall remain critical of the methods and motives of Michelle's advocacy. But her lasting legacy will be in the doors that she opened and the barriers she removed for residents and visitors with disabilities. I believe this article presents as balanced a representation of Michelle as its brevity allows. However, I would note that (to my knowledge) Michelle did not use a wheelchair, she used an electric scooter. Nor are people who use wheelchairs "bound" to their wheelchairs. To the contrary, wheelchair users are made more free by having a device that enhances their mobility.

She probably would have wanted to be at Frank Romano's service. Instead, she's by his side.