This story first appeared in the Fall 2025 issue of Vision.
This year's recipients of the prestigious Sed Vitae award have a long history of supporting Visitation. Over the decades, Mary and Chip Michel of St. Paul have demonstrated remarkable generosity and service to the school.
Growing up in St. Paul, Chip was always tinkering. “Ever since I was a kid, I wanted to build stuff,” he said. “We took a motor off a lawnmower and put it on our wooden chug with wagon wheels, and we actually got it running down Summit. There was a hill on Snelling that helped us get it started.”
He’s a problem solver, which sometimes means sticking with the problem a little longer than others, Chip said. “That’s what I’ve done my whole life. There’s got to be a solution somewhere! It’s there! You’ve got to ask a lot of people for ideas and have conversations. The solution is there—you just have to find it. And it might not be you who comes up with it.”
Chip’s determination met a new cause during his senior year of college, when the St. Thomas student met his future wife, Mary, a senior nursing major at The College of St. Catherine. He was taking an art class on the St. Kate’s campus and found himself spending more and more time there, enjoying time with the bright, beautiful young woman from Wisconsin.
Chip could see Mary’s special love for people and for gathering, an impulse that would flourish when they married and became parents to Bridget and Charlie.
GETTING STARTED
The couple’s shared values proved a solid foundation. Over the decades, they both served their community, however and whenever they could—be it their parish, Lumen Christi in St. Paul, their neighborhood or their children’s school, Highland Catholic and then Visitation School and Saint Thomas Academy, Chip’s alma mater. “I really feel the only thing you get out of life is what you give,” Chip said.
“If we didn’t have treasure,” Mary added, “we gave our time or talent. We’ve both done this, without even talking about it. Yes, we’re going to help at school or help at church. It’s always been part of who we are.” Chip agreed. “It has amazed me,” he responded. “Along the path, she’ll say something, and it’s almost like I was thinking the same thing. With matters of time or talent, we’ve never argued about it.”
Chip worked with his brothers in the family business until 2002 when he started his own pump company. For the next 20 years, he ran Decko Products, which designed and manufactured innovative products to remove problem water. He sold the business and retired in 2020.
Looking back, Chip is grateful he was able to recognize and seize a business opportunity. “My belief that the pump business had a hole in the supply side, and that there was room for another one, turned out to be true, and it grew right out of its socks,” he said.
BASKETS TAKE OFF
Meanwhile, Mary moved mountains as a stay-at-home mom and volunteer. Under the vision and leadership of Betsy Russomanno, she played a vital role in bringing Merrie Market back to school after a stint off campus and helped shape it into what it is today. As Merrie Market Gala and Auction chair, she worked closely with her two predecessors: Betsy and the late Mary Owens. “We all helped each other,” she said.
The enterprising women began the successful Key Club and the donation of baskets, an enduring concept. Together, they rolled up their sleeves and wrapped countless donated baskets.
Mary was thrilled to see such creativity and generosity combine. “It’s magical,” she said. “You can’t outsource everything,” Mary added. “You want to give people the opportunity to have some ownership, to find that extra hour or two in a week and help make something.”
When Chip sold Decko, the Michel family suddenly found themselves with something new to offer their beloved schools: treasure. Chip, co-captain of the STA’s 1967 swim and dive team, recognized the need for a new pool and stepped up to be a cheerleader of the fundraising campaign. The prospect of building a new pool had been shelved time after time, slipping through the cracks of three consecutive capital campaigns. “I never doubted it would work,” he said. “The pool was falling apart, and I just said, ‘I’m not going to let that happen. Not on my watch!”
UNPRECEDENTED GENEROSITY
He and Mary made a lead gift and then a matching gift, ultimately contributing $6 million to the $12 million project—the largest donation in Vis and STA history.
The Michel Aquatic Center—lovingly named after Chip’s parents, Chuck and Dolly—is now complete, serving Vis, STA and the broader community through the Catholic Athletic Association, which has seen a surge of interest in swimming. Successful fundraising isn’t about taking credit, Chip said—it’s about collaboration and demonstrating a clear need. Chip was tireless, finding the right people at the right time to advance the project.
Today, Chip and Mary are grandparents to three grandsons, Henry and Jack Batzler alums of Vis and STA, plus Charles, currently a sixth grader at STA. Chip enjoys fishing, Mary enjoys needlepoint, cooking and baking. Family is everything.
Their commitment to service has been passed on.
“The kids and grandkids have been involved in a lot of what we’ve done,” Chip said.
Ultimately, Mary said, the power of your example becomes your legacy.