WASHINGTON - Just by looking at a picture of Michelle Humanick, you get a sense of how happy she was. Those lucky enough to have known her can tell you much more.
"We would talk about our kids and that's what I remember about her,” said friend Sylvia Bolivar. “How kind she was and how generous and how active she was in her community."
It was in that community of College Park where Humanick died on Sunday. When a storm roared through, a tree fell on her van as she was traveling southbound on Rhode Island Avenue at Odessa Road.
"I was very shocked along with the rest of our neighborhood to find out what happened because it's very senseless and very tragic,” said Bolivar. “But I hope that everyone comes together and lets her children and her husband know how much we respected and valued her. Family was the center of her life.”
Neighbors Shirley and Lorel Morrison remember that years ago, Humanick told them that she was adopted and that she and Clay were looking forward to adopting kids of their own. Eventually they adopted two daughters.
Humanick spent hours working on the College Park recreation board. She created a neighborhood watch website for the Yarrow area of College Park.
Humanick and her husband were devoted to the Maryland Terrapins and friends of the environment too. They added solar panels to their roof of their home and neighbors say she cherished the plants that grew in her yard. Friends say she nurtured the neighborhood too - with her kindness and generosity.
