Michelle Jacqueline Leighton

Michelle Jacqueline Leighton, 43, of Stow, Ohio passed away November 10th, 2024.

She was born on October 19th, 1981 to Gordon and Jacqueline Leighton (nee Hall). Growing up in Tsawwassen, BC, Canada (near Vancouver), the core of her childhood were her siblings: Tim Leighton, Mark Leighton, and Courtney Leighton. Her parents instilled in her a lifelong love of travel with pictures of their adventures to Europe and annual family trips. They also passed down their love of the Montreal Canadiens.

She met Marc Sabo in an obscure internet chatroom. The two eventually became very close and developed a long term, long distance relationship. In 2004, with the prompting and help of her sister, Michelle took the biggest step of her life and moved to the United States to live with Marc. On August 26, 2005, Marc and Michelle became husband and wife. On August 28, 2007, they welcomed their daughter Luna Sorelle Leighton-Sabo into the world. Michelle was an incredibly fierce advocate for her daughter and always made sure she had exactly what she needed. Education and supporting children were important to her which led to coaching multiple Girls on The Run teams, getting involved with the PTA, including running the Reflections programs for many years, and was a founding member of Ignite Stow, a gifted children advocacy group. 

Michelle was always very proud of her Canadian heritage, but due to rising political instabilities in the US and a desire to take a more active role in the democratic process, Michelle moved from permanent resident alien status to full US citizen in 2018. Although her experience was relatively easy, the cause and plight of immigrants in the US was never far from her mind. 

In her downtime, she was a voracious reader and loved helping people find new books to read. She also loved playing video games, both alone and with her family. She enjoyed museums, bookstores and libraries. She also looked forward to the Olympics, being particularly interested in track and field. She was a very competitive runner in her youth and even completed the Vancouver Marathon in 2006.

In addition to her immediate family, her memory will be carried forward by Gordon and Jacqueline Leighton, Steven Sabo, Steve Sabo and Mason and Ava, Tim Leighton, Gisela Hurtado Hurtado and Quatchi., Mark Leighton, Alli Hunter and Amelia, Courtney Leighton, Kevin Keslo, Caeden, Rylan and Emily Kelso, Bev and Dick Gauthier, Mark Gauthier and Liane Gauthier Jones, Lynn Leighton and Phil Leighton and family, Sharry Lovas and Jacques Scraire and Caprisia, Ruth and Kent Robbins and family, and pretty much anyone that knew her. She was just that incredible.

In lieu of flowers, Marc and Luna request that donations be made to the following organizations:

The Springfield Unity Fund-Support for Haitian Immigrants
or
Abortion Fund of Ohio
or
Akron-Canton Regional Food Bank
or
The Stow-Monroe Falls Public Library (3512 Darrow Rd, Stow, OH 44224)

Services in care of The Billow Funeral Homes and Crematory, 1907 23rd St. Cuyahoga Falls, OH 44223.