COLUMBUS
Michelle G. Fleming, fondly known as “Mic,” died at Columbus Regional Hospital on March 18, 2018. She had been in ill health for some time.
Ms. Fleming lived in Columbus for the past 40 years.
She worked for Bruce Bottum Advertising as a production manager.
In 1971, she was recruited by Ampersand Inc. in Indianapolis as executive vice president for the advertising/interior design firm. Ms. Fleming was one of the designers of the Commons Mall. While designing the mall, she was also designing the building of Hoosier Energy corporate offices in Bloomington.
She did several stores at Keystone at the Crossing.
In 1976 she went to L.S. Ayres and was in the advertising department for 17 years.
During her time at Ayres, she opened a restaurant in 1983 in Columbus called “Bacon’s Station.”
When Ayres closed, she went to North Vernon and opened a staffing service called IndianaSelect Training Inc. Within a year she opened two more offices in Edinburgh and Madison.
She was the first executive director of the Jennings County Community Foundation. She was on the board of Step Ahead, president of the Jennings County Drug and Alcohol Task Force, and several other organizations.
Ms. Fleming will be long remembered for her sparkling personal charm and great sense of style, her natural flair for interior design, and her warm devotion to caring for other people.
Ms. Fleming was born in Alpena, Michigan, the daughter of the late Mr. and Mrs. L. M. “Mike” Fleming. At age 5, Ms. Fleming moved to Hamptons in New York. She moved back to Michigan at the time of her Father’s tragic death at the age of 10.
She attended Mount Mercy Academy in Grand, Michigan, the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, Michigan, and Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. She was degreed from all schools.
Ms. Fleming was a member of the St. Bartholomew Catholic Church, lifetime member of the Elks Club, National Pilot’s Association, League of Catholic Women, Oblate of the Sisters of St. Benedict in Ferdinand, Indiana, Columbus Arts Council, and she was an avid golfer and tennis player. She loved to fly.
A Mass of Christian Burial will be held at 10 a.m., Friday, March 23, 2018 at St. Bartholomew Catholic Church with Fr. James Brockmeier as celebrant. Visitation will be one hour prior to service time at the church.
Ms. Fleming will be returned to Michigan where a separate Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at noon, Monday, March 26, 2018 at St. Anne Church, All Saints Catholic Parish, Alpena, Michigan. Burial will then follow at Holy Cross Cemetery, Alpena, Michigan.
Donations in Ms. Fleming’s name can be made to Our Lady of Grace Monastery, 1402 Southern Ave., Beech Grove, IN 46107.
