Michael Ashton February 11, 1948 - December 22, 2024

Michael William Ashton
“And in the end, it’s not the years in your life that count. It’s the life in your years.” ― Abraham Lincoln

Michael “Mike” Ashton, age 76, passed away surrounded by love and family on Sunday evening, December 22, 2024. Mike is survived by his loving wife of 50 years, Sharon (Sainato) Ashton; and his daughters Kelly Ashton and Kari McCullar (Brandon). He is forever cherished by his grandchildren Jacob, Tyler, Kade and Maicee as well as sisters Sandy Jackson, and Pat Griggs, nieces, nephews and other family members. Mike is preceded by his parents, Charles “Wild Bill” William Ashton and Dorothy “Tutu” Ashton, his sister Sue Long and brother Randy Ashton.

‍Mike was born in February 1948 in Illinois but at the age of 3, the family moved to the Big Thompson Canyon (Cedar Cove) in Colorado, where he attended grade school and Loveland High School, graduating in 1966. Soon after, he began working for Hewlett Packard and continued his education at Colorado State University. While at college he helped coach Special Studies Body Building, training ROTC candidates preparing for bootcamp. With a love for running and staying active, he ran Pike’s Peak marathon 3 times. As school ended and ever the entrepreneur, he started in cosmetic sales but found his calling soon after in construction for a 52-year adventure in the industry. He has done it all.
Mike began his construction career with American Pacific Development company, building condominiums in Breckenridge and Hawaii. It was at this time that he met his lifetime love and partner Sharon, and they married December 1974 in Lynnwood, Washington.

‍Though Mike loved hiking, fishing and hunting the mountains of Colorado, construction brought them to Washington state. Granite Falls was where they settled and began building their life and family. Mike started his own framing company, Ashton Construction, and then went on to become the construction manager for Murray Franklyn. He eventually took the position of Chief Operating Officer (COO) for
Himalaya Homes and the same COO role for Sage Homes. In addition, Mike served as a Board Member for the Construction Management Committee for the University of Washington and was active with the Master Builders Association.

‍As Mike and Sharon’s children grew, he also invested time and talents in the Granite Falls school system, serving on the Granite Falls School Board for 8 years. He took pride in his involvement in the community, making lifelong friends along the way.

Mike loved to travel and had a special love and eye for photography. He always had his camera, ready to capture that special moment. He loved sharing and giving these photos away, providing memories of time spent together.

Another way Mike loved on his family and friends was through his sense of humor. He loved to laugh and was a perpetual prankster. Friends could find exploding pens, car door handles covered in Vaseline, a fake cockroach sneakily placed on their kitchen counter or attacked with a squirt gun. Mike would be grinning from ear to ear, enjoying every minute. Laughing and storytelling around the kitchen table or the campfire were staple activities.

Mike always had a passion for horses, and loved to ride, a skill taught to his daughters. He was a cowboy to his core, even investing in a side career as a bareback rider in the rodeo and coaching at rodeo schools. His love for the Colorado landscape manifested in the transformation of the family’s farm on Goebel Hill Road from a treeless cow pasture to “Rock Ridge Ranch” – a slice of ponderosa
forest, complete with rocky fence lines, barns, pastures, bunkhouses, and horses; a place where you might show up as a stranger, but you left as family. Building and sharing a special site for all to enjoy took hard work, something Mike never shied from. He was a generous spirit we all cherished.

He was a man of character, and his core values of love, loyalty, trust, hard work, honesty and respect were traits he taught and shared with those around him. Mike was not a perfect man but was perfection as a man, striving to be the best version of himself within his own capabilities and for the people he loved. He was truly unique – God broke the mold when he gave us Mike. Mike’s passing leaves a void that cannot be filled, but his legacy of joy, generosity, and love will live on in the countless lives he touched.

A celebration of Mike’s life will be conducted at 2:00 p.m., Saturday, February 15 th , 2025 at LifePoint
Church in Lake Stevens (14619 28 th St NE). Contributions in his memory can be made to the Justin
Cowboy Crisis Fund (www.justincowboycrisisfund.org) or the American Cancer Society, in lieu of flowers.