Jean Michelena

Mass of Christian Burial for Jean Michelena, 90-year-old lifetime Buffalo resident who passed away Monday at the Edgewood Meadow Wind Assisted Living in Casper, Wyoming, will be celebrated on Monday, January 12th at 11:00 a.m. at the St. John the Baptist Catholic Church in Buffalo, with Father Bryce Lungren as Celebrant. Visitation will be held at the Harness Funeral Home Chapel in Buffalo on Sunday from 9:00 a.m. until 5:00 p.m. A Vigil Service will be held, and the Rosary prayed on Sunday at 6:30 p.m. at the Catholic Church. Interment will be in Willow Grove Cemetery, with graveside services to be at 2:30 p.m. on Monday. A reception will follow the Mass in the Catholic Rec. Hall. Donations in Jean’s memory may be made to St. John the Baptist Catholic Church at 532 N. Lobban, Buffalo, Wyoming 82834. Online condolences may be made at www.harnessfuneralhome.com, and the mass will be livestreamed on Monday.

Jean Paulino Michelena was born on January 25, 1935, in Buffalo, Wyoming to Sebastian and Anna Michelena. He went to school in Arvada until the middle of his senior year when he transferred to Johnson County High School where he graduated with the class of 1953. After high school, he entered the United States Army and served in Panama as support for the Panama Canal. Following an honorable discharge, he returned to Buffalo and was married on November 10, 1955, in Cheyenne to Jeanie Haynes, and they made their home in Greybull, Wyoming where Jean worked as a block mason’s helper. In 1958, they moved to Snyder, Texas where they lived for a year before moving to Mission, Texas and lived there for a short time before moving back to Greybull. In 1960 the family moved to Buffalo where he and Jeanie went into partnership with his brother-in-law in the Keahey’s Standard Service Station on Main Street. In 1971 the service station moved locations and became the Interstate Standard East of Buffalo. In January 1977 they purchased Christiansen Automotive, and it became Michelena Automotive which they owned and operated until they retired in 1995. Jeanie passed away in August of 2016, and Jean continued living in Buffalo until September 2021 when he moved to Casper where he lived until his death.

Jean and Jeanie were very active in square dance clubs, and he enjoyed playing Pinochle and other card games. He loved snowmobiling and spending time at their cabin. His passion was spending time with his wife and traveling in their motorhome. After he retired, they would winter in Arizona. He was an active member of the Knights of Columbus and was a 4th, Degree Knight. Jean was also a member of the Buffalo Kawanis Club for 63 years. He is survived by one son, Kevin Michelena and his wife Lynne of Buffalo; two daughters, Renée Michelena of Gillette and Michelle Pribbernow and her husband Eric of Casper; three brothers, Santiago Michelena and his wife Marilyn of Sheridan, Juaquin Michelena and his Delores of Arvada, Wyoming and Pete Michelena and his wife Wanda of Farmington, New Mexico; three sisters, Kathleen Smith of Sheridan, Mary Louise Bradshaw of Fort Worth, Texas and Marcina McKenzie and her husband Bub of Sheridan; six grandchildren and ten great-grandchildren. He was preceded in death by his parents, one daughter Brenda, four brothers, one sister and one great-granddaughter.