Michele Janeen (Gregory) Barnett

Michele Janeen Gregory Barnett, 57, of Arden, NC peacefully passed away on Saturday, October 18, 2025 after a long battle with metastatic cancer.

Michele was born in Raleigh, NC to Dr. James Douglas Gregory of Wilmington, NC and the late Janice Raye Jones Gregory (2009).

Michele believed the art and science of raising and educating children to be extremely important. She graduated from Meredith College in Raleigh, NC with a Bachelor’s Degree in Early Childhood Development. She first became employed as a lead teacher at Bright Horizons Child Care and, later, the Co-Owner of A Child’s Place, a large Montessori home childcare facility, in partnership with her mother. After relocating to Asheville, Michele served as a Buncombe County Teaching Assistant. She raised two successful and strong daughters, Gillian and Eileen, who bring light into the world wherever they go. Michele Janeen Gregory was a wise soul with a bright aura that enveloped all with whom she came into contact. She loved hiking, art, and nature. Michele filled our home with love, our yard with flowers, and our lives with her amazing spirit.

Surviving Michele is her husband, Kevin Howard Barnett; children, Gillian Raven Gregory of Waynesville, NC, Eileen Skye Gregory of Black Mountain, NC; sister, Erin Leigh Gregory of Charlotte, NC, nephews Duncan and Damien Suddarth; and grandson, Oliver Jaxx Hill of Waynesville, NC.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made in Michele’s memory to the Susan G. Komen Foundation at https://www.komen.org/

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