Ashlee Renee Sifuentes, 31

Ashlee Renee Sifuentes, 31, passed away on Tuesday, Oct. 18, 2016, at her home in Kalispell. After a long battle and the struggles she faced with her pain, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder and depression, Ashlee chose to take her own life.

    Ashlee was born on Dec. 10, 1984, in Washington to Kim Renee Abell and Frank Anthony Sifuentes.

    Ashlee began her early education in Evergreen and attended both schools in the Evergreen School District before moving up to Kalispell Junior High School and finishing up with Flathead High School. It was no surprise that from an early age Ashlee had a strong love for sports. Ashlee played girls basketball throughout her entire education, and was a phenomenal baseball player as well. She spent eight years playing on the boys all-star baseball team in Kalispell. Her love for the game, no matter which ball it involved, was nothing short of intense and she wasn’t afraid to show her passion for the game no matter how extreme it seemed.

    Ashlee’s admiration for baseball and softball grew even more so in the past few years, when she recruited her “baby” sister Shawna Jean to play softball with her. Coaching, teaching, practicing and playing ball with her sister made Ashlee happier than anything else. Her hopes of passing on her reputation and legacy as a ball player to Shawna Jean, were just becoming a reality for her. Lovingly referred to as “Smash,” “Bad-Ash” and “Ash-itude,” Ashlee was in her true form and in her happiest moments when she was wearing her infamous No. 23 jersey. Hey Double-D’s, Rainbow Beats and Spirit Quest Archery ... “We made it!”

If you didn’t know Ash for her reputation in sports, then it was most certainly her passion for dogs and being called “The Dog Whisperer” by her friends and family. Ashlee was a certified Paws for Humanity dog trainer, but it was her soft spot for pit bulls that made her stand out. Ash could relate first hand to the negative stereotype and reputation they both had, and spent her days proving why that was wrong. “The kids,” her ying and yang pit bulls, Dash and Aries, and her “little man” Bentley Franklin were “Daddy’s” pride and joy. They weren’t pets, they are family. Daddy will always be their best friend.

“Trust and believe,” she’d show you how and why “actions speak louder than words." We’ll never be able to forget her slightly theatrical performances she gave while telling the stories of her epic adventures, past, present or future.

    We’ll never stop believing in you, Ashlee Renee. Your legacy will carry on in each and every person whose life you touched. To us you’re already famous, but it’s our promise to honor you by sharing your story to raise awareness.

“Sometimes the most broken people try to fix others because they can’t fix themselves.” #SMASHtheSILENCE23.

You truly were “the best of both worlds,” just as you said, “Won’t ever find another like me, shoulda’ put a patent on me.”

Ashlee was preceded in death by her grandmother, Vi Abell.

She is survived by her mother, Kim Abell, of Kalispell; her father, Frank Sifuentes, of Arizona; her stepfather Jerry Abell, a sister Shawna Abell, and maternal grandparents Georgie Gasser and Glen Gasser, all of Kalispell; paternal grandparents, Adaline Sifuentes and Ben Sifuentes, of Washington; uncles; Shawn Gasser of Kalispell and Monte Gasser of Washington, as well as many cousins, adopted family members and friends.

    A memorial for Ashlee will be held Wednesday, Nov. 9, at the Moose Lodge in Evergreen. In honor of Ashlee it will be a black and white remembrance from 6 to 9 p.m., for her closest family and friends only. A celebration of life is planned for Ashlee’s 32nd birthday on Dec. 10, open to all who would like to attend; location and time to be determined.

As Thomas Campbell said, “To live in the hearts of those we love is to never die.”

“Tsk …Tsk ... Rest in peace, my girl, we know you’re always watching.”

Johnson-Gloschat Funeral Home and Crematory has been caring for Ashlee’s family.