Michelle Bierl

Michelle D. Bierl, 65, of Clear Lake, passed away on Sunday, August 30, 2026 at her home.

Mass of Christian Burial will be held at 10:30 AM on Tuesday, September 8, 2026 at St. John's Catholic Church, 608 2nd Avenue Northeast in Clarion. Burial will be in St. John's Catholic Cemetery.

Visitation will be held from 5:00 - 7:00 PM on Monday, September 7, 2026 at Ewing Funeral Home in Clarion. A Rosary and Scriptural Vigil will begin at 4:00 PM prior to visitation. 

On August 30, 2026, after a 2 month steady decline, Michelle Bierl left this earth for her heavenly home, less than 1 month before her 66 birthday.

Michelle Diane Bierl was born on September 24, 1960, in Clarion, and was the middle of 5 children of Don & Darlene Bierl. At 9 months old, when she wasn't meeting normal baby milestones, doctors at the University of lowa diagnosed her with Cerebral Palsy, mainly affecting her lower extremities. Michelle went back to lowa City for extended checkups every 3 months to work on those milestones. When she was two years old, Michelle was accepted into the University of lowa School for Severely Handicapped Children, where she would stay for 2 to 3-month periods for the next 2 years, to learn how to sit by herself, crawl and stand. Between the ages of 5 and 6, her months spent there would eventually include getting full leg braces and learning how to walk, first with parallel bars made by her Grandpa Bierl and then with sawhorse crutches made by her Dad. Michelle was most excited when she got a specially adapted tricycle, so she could ride with her family when she was home. The most challenging things with her cerebral palsy were a surgery to lengthen the cord in her right ankle when she was 10, due to the full length cast on that leg for most of the summer, and more surgery again when she was 13, to lengthen the cords behind both knees, with both legs in full casts for another summer. Even through all of this, and wearing heavy braces to help her walk, Michelle never complained and was always a happy little girl! While her trips to lowa City ended when she was 6½ years old, what Michelle wanted most of all was to go to school like Mike and Mona, so she was overjoyed when she was enrolled in the Pleasant Valley School for Special Education classes in Fort Dodge when she was 7years old. She rode a little blue van every day with other students from Clarion, and made many new friends while there. Throughout her school years, Michelle also brought home several 1st and 2nd place medals in the wheelchair races and bowling at the District and State Special Olympics. A special school memory was when Michelle was crowned Prom Queen at age 18! During the summer, she also enjoyed attending Camp Quest at Lake Okoboji during her high school years.

A big milestone in Michelle's life was when she was accepted to live at Handicap Village in Clear Lake when she was 21 years old, with her own bedroom to decorate just like big sister Mona's apartment. Michelle loved being a member of the Village Bell Choir and her physical therapy time at the pool. The Village also arranged for her to have several jobs at the Kinney-Lindstrom Center, from sorting nuts and bolts to packaging items, but her favorite job by far was always shredding papers for the bank, even asking if she could do that again in her later years. She did come home for special family events and holidays, but was always ready to go back to the Village. Michelle was also able to make many lifelong friends in Clear Lake throughout the years, as Handicap Village transitioned to Opportunity Village, and then again to One Vision.

During the last 15 years of her life, as the cerebral palsy weakened her muscles further, Michelle was confined to a wheelchair, but never complained even then. She was still able to participate in activities she loved, including attending Clear Lake's "Night To Shine" adult prom events for many years. In 2023, Michelle moved off the One Vision campus into a private home with 3 other women, where she lived out the remainder of her life.

Left to celebrate Michelle's life are her siblings Michael Bierl (Julie Smith) of Clarion, Mona Bierl Kotenbrink of Hampton, Steven (Heather) Bierl of Bloomington, Illinois, James (Joann) Bierl of Clive; aunts MaryEllen Bierl-Smyth and Karen (Gary) Hobbie; 5 nieces, 1 nephew, 3 great-nieces, 7 great-nephews and one expected great-great niece, as well as numerous cousins.

She was preceded in death by her parents, Don and Darlene; and niece Brianna Weismann.