I was informed from a fellow classmate, that we have lost another classmate who passed away in 2023.  I am sad to report that Michele (Miki) Petscher had passed away last year. Obituary information is shown below.

Ralph and Michele "Miki" Marchand

June 14, 2023

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It is with deep sadness that we announce that on June 14, 2023, Michele “Miki” Marchand, devoted mother, wife, and friend, and Ralph Marchand, devoted father, husband and friend, passed away together at ages 70 and 72.

When Ralph and Miki found each other, they found their soul mates and adventuring partners. They were married in 1983 in front of the fireplace in what started out as Ralph’s house in Houston, Texas. Ralph brought two sons, Jason and Jeremy, to the marriage, and Miki brought her daughter Jenny. Together Ralph and Miki made a beautiful, blended family full of hijinks, laughter, and most of all love. The house soon became a home in the truest sense to all five of them, as well as a second home to countless friends and neighbors whom they loved as an extended family. It’s where they lived the entire 40 of years of their marriage. 

Ralph and Miki were the rocks for their children through sporting events, graduations, loves, marriages, the birth of grandkids (which brought more sporting events, plays, and performances) and of course loss. They were preceded in death by Ralph’s father Larry Marchand and Miki’s parents Jim and Leola Petscher, as well as their beautiful daughter Jenny who also left this earth far too soon.  Their marriage and loving spirits were the anchor that guided the family through all these things.

Born in Lake Charles, Louisiana, Miki lived in several different cities as an Army child before settling down in Houston. She was a free spirit from the start, and probably had a great deal more stories about her teenage adventures than she ever shared with her kids. Her entire life she had a heart for animals and a magical ability with plants. She always had several pets and had an enviable garden stocked with native plants.

Miki worked for Raleigh W. Johnson & Company, as a salesperson, stocking schools and restaurants with large scale kitchen equipment for many years. She ultimately retired in 2019, and then new adventures began. Miki was an award-winning pickle ball player and loved mornings spent at the courts with her fellow athletes. She also volunteered at a wilderness shelter and at Inspiration Ranch, which provides child therapy. In a world where connection is something that seems so hard to maintain, Miki loved connecting with her own friends. She began most of her days calling out to her neighbor Peggy to check in on what the day would bring and enjoyed staying in touch with those who weren’t quite as close.

Ralph was born in Cottonport, Louisiana, and spent his childhood there with his large, loving family and dear friends, followed by a brief moment in seminary school until he realized that path didn’t quite fit with his wild spirit, at which point he moved to Houston.

Ralph was always a man who could DO things. He could fix almost anything. He spent hours in his shop making beautiful creations from wood that outfit his home and that of people he loved - from dining room tables to cutting boards to beautiful keepsake boxes and many other items that he used in his home and gifted to others. With the help of several family members and friends, he even built a cabin from the ground up. Working on that project was his passion. Both to create something himself and to have a place in nature to share. Every visitor was asked to record thoughts in a book he kept there.  It was as much about having a place to connect as it was a peaceful place for Ralph to just be. 

Ralph worked for Southwestern Bell and then AT&T.  He eventually started his own company, Professional Fone Management, with a partner.  He retired soon after Miki did so they could begin new adventures together. When he wasn’t making runs to that cabin at the “Property” in the hill country, he was in his shop, working the yard or picking his tomatoes, and enjoyed ending his day with a cool drink with friends, especially his dear friend John.

Together in retirement they also began to travel. Trips included the Grand Canyon, down the Columbia and Snake Rivers, and a journey to Nashville. They enjoyed spending time with one another during these new adventures together.  

Ralph and Miki are survived by Ralph’s mother Priscilla Marchand; his siblings Sharon Flash, Mike Marchand, David Marchand, and Becky Laborde, as well as Miki’s sister, Jayne Taylor. They are also survived by their sons, Jason and Jeremy Marchand, and their grandchildren, Killian, Owen and Nelwyn Marchand, and too many other dear family and friends to name in this space.  

They both left all of us far too early, but they are together forever and will be cherished and missed always.