Michelle Estep Obituary

Michelle Estep
04/28/1962 - 03/10/2025
Michelle Ladonne "Donnie" Estep passed away at her home in Houston on the morning of March 7th, 2025, following a month and a half's illness.
Michelle (neé Hough) was born in Seminole, Texas on April 28, 1962. Her family moved to Pasadena, Texas in 1966, where Michelle attended J.D. Parks Elementary, San Jacinto Intermediate, and Pasadena High School. Michelle studied at Baylor University in Waco and at the University of Houston, where she received her BS in Anthropology in 1991, followed by a Master's in education in 1996.
Beginning in high school and throughout her studies, Michelle worked in a wide variety of jobs, including at Sears department store, as a manager of the Montrose Bookstop, as a line loader at UPS, as a paralegal for several law firms, and as a bartender at Blythe Spirits.
Upon receiving her Master's degree, Michelle began full-time work as an ESL (English as a Second Language) instructor, initially as a tutor for the children of foreign nationals employed in the energy industry, along with teaching positions at both Houston Community College and La Raza Unida.
In 1998, Michelle began a nearly 2-year position in Riga, Latvia, as an ESL instructor for ethnic Russian kids at a Latvian high school, as well as teaching university-level courses for graduates training in the social sciences. This position was part of an effort funded by the Soros Foundation, designed to strengthen the newly independent democracies of Eastern Europe.
Upon her return to Houston, Michelle joined the faculty of the ESL Center at the University of Houston Downtown (UHD), where she taught for the next 15 years, before relocating to Tucson, to teach at the University of Arizona. While in Arizona, Michelle switched her focus from classroom teaching to online instruction and grading entrance exams for foreign exchange students from around the world.
Michelle returned home to Houston in 2022.
Michelle was an excellent teacher, and it was a joy to watch her work. Whether it was commanding the absolute attention of a roomful of rowdy Latvian teenagers or explaining the intricacies of an essay or composition, Michelle made her classroom shared experiences of excitement and intense engagement.
Michelle's qualities of strictness and precision, leavened with her kindness and humor, were an impressive combination, and she was regularly visited by former students, who regarded her with great affection and respect, having become not only former students but friends as well.
The field trips which Michelle organized for her students at UHD became annual events, which were much looked forward to: Nasa's facilities in Clear Lake; the Trail Ride down Main Street, at the opening of the Houston Rodeo and Livestock Show; and Michelle's favorite, the Cockrell Butterfly Center in the Museum District. Her natural abilities as a teacher extended outside the classroom, as exemplified by her successfully teaching her then-husband Robert how to drive a stick shift on her beloved Chevy compact truck, "Tealita."
In addition to her teaching load, Michelle also attended and presented at a number of ESL conferences over the years, including ones in Denver, Baltimore, Toronto, and Sao Paolo, Brazil.
Michelle loved cooking and baking and was, shortly after her return to Houston, at last able to build and enjoy the kitchen she'd always dreamed of.
She also loved working in the garden and although the desert climate of Tucson presented challenges, Michelle made the most of it, tending various cacti and aloe vera plants in front of her house, as well as building an impressively large Catio for her senior kitties Cisco and Caroline, so that they could watch, in safety and comfort, their pup siblings Murphy and Dora, as well as the comings and goings of the birds and iguanas (and occasional coyotes) in the field beyond her back fence.
Michelle was extremely grateful that her much-loved Murphy was able to return with her to Texas, to enjoy his final years in the house where he'd grown up, just down the street from the Moody Park drainage pipe where she'd rescued him, along with his three litter-mates. Michelle always credited Murphy as the principal reason she survived the Covid period of isolation with her sanity intact.
Once she was back at home in Houston, Michelle quickly set to work, assembling a small solar fountain in the front yard, which she could see from her office window, watching as the cardinals and sparrows came to drink and bathe. She made the backyard flourish with beds and trellises where she grew cucumbers, beets, carrots, and peppers, many of which she pickled to share with friends and neighbors.
Michelle loved dance and music and had herself been a dancer when she was a child, as well as a trumpet player in high school. She was active in the local music scene throughout the 1980s and '90s, managing a number of rock and roll bands and designing posters and flyers for upcoming shows.
Among Michelle's favorite musical artists were Prince, Jeff Beck, AC/DC, Queen, the Foo Fighters, Tom Petty, and Los Caifanes.
Michelle had a fearless and wild streak, which made her a formidable ally to her artist and musician friends. She was also an extremely discerning critic, and her advice was invaluable and always carried extra weight, given her own natural modesty.
She was also a knowledgeable aficionado of Korean and Japanese films and knew all of the Monty Python songs by heart.
Michelle was an avid and lifelong reader, and loved the novels of Dickens, Tolkien, Jose Saramago, Lady Murasaki, Cormac McCarthy, Martin Amis, and Eva Poniatowska.
Everyone who knew Michelle was aware of how much she loved and cared about animals. Whether it was ring-tailed lemurs in Madagascar, polar bears in Alaska, or the honeybees and other beneficials outside her kitchen window, Michelle was fascinated by their habits, their honesty and mischievousness, and delighted in their mystery and beauty. This fascination and love were most apparent in her interactions with cats and dogs, of whom she rescued countless, giving them shelter, food, and medical care, and fostering them till they could find their forever homes, or, as was the case in many instances, bring them into her own family of quadrupeds.
It was a running joke among Michelle's friends that if the concept of reincarnation turned out to be true, the best fate in the world was to be that of a stray dog or cat who happened to wander up the driveway to the front door of Michelle's house. Michelle treated her four-footed companions like peers and always said that no matter how much love and attention she lavished them with, it was more than equaled by what they gave her in return.
Michelle was a registered Democrat. She was actively supportive of a large number of progressive causes and was particularly passionate about the issues of proper funding of public education, the need to curb gun violence, the alleviation of poverty and homelessness, and the need for racial justice. She caucused for Jesse Jackon during his presidential candidacy in 1988 and participated in providing security for Sarah Weddington when she delivered a series of public speeches in Houston in the early 1990s. Michelle also volunteered during the establishment of Jimmy Carter's Habitat For Humanity projects in Houston and along the Gulf Coast. She was a regular donor to organizations, both local and worldwide, which advocated for the humane treatment of animals and the protection of wildlife.
Michelle was married twice, first to Clint Davidson and then to Robert Estep, with whom she remained good friends to the end, and who was with her throughout her illness, along with Robert's wife, Barbara Shreffler, and loving caregiver, Kathy Giles.
Michelle's father, Gene Hough, passed away in 1995, and Michelle is survived by her mother, Sue Hough, sister Teresa Hough, brother Michael Hough, sister-in-law Ann Hough, and nieces Kendall, Tori, and Allie Hough, and Vivien Hunter, of Olympia, Washington.
Michelle's puppy Mariposa, as well as the family of feral kittens whom she adopted (Mother Emily, and Joey, Bonnie, and Bopeep), and outside kitty Billie, are all now members of Robert and Barbara's family.
You were loved, Michelle, and you are missed every day. I will be forever grateful for the many lessons you taught me about life and friendship.
Goodbye my beautiful, beautiful friend.
Robert and Barbara