Michelle “Shelly” Lee Knutson Cox, 51, of Detroit Lakes, MN, passed away last Monday, June 3, 2024, at Essentia Health Hospital in Fargo. Michelle was born on August 9, 1972, to Wayne and Leslie (Kensok) Knutson in Grand Forks, ND. She graduated from Hawley High in 1990 and attended MSUM and NDSU where she became an Alpha Gamma Delta.
Throughout her youth, she spent time at her family cabin on Lake Little McDonald, showing up her brothers at waterskiing while also earning the title of Miss Hawley in high school. She then married Todd Sparrow, and together they had Tyler. After their divorce, she married Terry Austin and resided in Kansas City, Missouri where she did some modeling and worked at Harrah’s Casino.
They then had their daughter, Alyssa. Michelle and Alyssa moved to Detroit Lakes, where she met Shivan Kulasingham. They united in marriage and had three children, Alec, Kylie, and Kamala.
She continued to live in Detroit Lakes until her passing. Michelle and Shivan were married just shy of 21 years this August. Michelle’s family was the most important thing in her life and she was thrilled when she became a grandmother to Tripp Sparrow this January.
She loved meeting new people and made friends wherever she went, especially at local convenience stores. Her kids joked about how long it took her to go shopping because she would converse with everyone around her. There wasn’t a day that went by where Shelly didn’t thank a veteran for his/her service either.
Mi.
