Michelle Cosby Obituary

Michelle Li-Yu Cosby

November 14, 1949 – February 25, 2026

M ichelle Li-Yu Cosby was born on November 14, 1949, in the Nangang District of Taipei, Taiwan. She was the first of four daughters to Lucy Pau Huang and stepfather Joseph P. O'Leary. She married the only man she every loved, Thomas Cosby Jr on June 28, 1975, in Poway, California at the Trinity Baptist Church.

She lived in Taiwan, primarily with her maternal grandparents, aunts and uncles until she moved to the Unites States when she was about 18 years old. After she moved to the United States to join her mother, stepdad and three sisters, she attended college in Boston and became an Accountant.

In her 20's, Michelle moved across the county from Boston to San Diego to live with her next youngest sister Louise Esselman, who had just gotten married. It wasn't long until she met her husband, Thomas Cosby Jr. With some persistence on his part, they were married.

Michelle loved being a mother to her two children, Thomas and Melissa. She enjoyed travelling around the country with them in a motorhome camper. She always worked outside the home to provide her kids with the opportunity to join extracurricular activities like piano, ballet, scouting and sports. After the kids got older, Michelle and Thomas packed up the family and moved from California to Colorado. It was hard for her to leave her mother and sisters behind. In Colorado, she worked for a telecommunications corporation and then as a blackjack dealer in Black Hawk. Her greatest pride and joy was the birth of her only grandchild in 2014.

Michelle will always be remembered for her love of crafting, crocheting and a good get rich quick scheme. She could be found shopping frequently on her kindle ordering crafting supplies on Amazon. Her fruit and vegetable garden was also one of her prized treasures. She loved gambling and so naturally, she loved playing Bunco at church with the Catholic Daughters of the Americas at St Augustine's in Brighton.

The last two summers of her life were spent in and out of hospitals and nursing care facilities. She contracted sepsis from MRSA twice. She fought an auto immune liver disease, which gave her cirrhosis despite never being a drinker. She was also a diabetic and had a failing immune system. The last round of MRSA in the Summer of 2025 left her paralyzed from the waist down, even though she had survived two painful spinal surgeries. Through it all, she was so tough and brave. She would smile at every person who came to visit her. Her husband never left her side. Towards her last few weeks, she couldn't stay out of the hospital for more than a week at a time. She said it was time to leave the nursing facility and go home. She was made very comfortable at home and spent her last week surrounded by loved ones. She passed quietly one Wednesday morning like a quiet breeze blowing by. She did it on her terms.

Michelle is survived by her husband, Thomas Cosby Jr, her son Thomas Cosby (Miguel Aguiar), her daughter Melissa (Antonio) Ledezma, her three younger sisters: Louise Esselman, Mary Ritenour and Margaret O'Leary, her grandson, Joshua Ledezma and Antonio's children, particularly Jared and Marisa Ledezma. She is preceded in death by her mother Lucy Pau Huang, stepfather Joseph P O'Leary, Grandparents and Aunts & Uncles in Taiwan.

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