Lisa A. Strong

Lisa A. (Comer) Strong, 48, of Cassopolis, MI, passed away unexpectedly, of natural causes on June 30, 2025 at home. She was born January 27, 1977, in South Bend, IN, to Dennis L. Comer and Diana L. (Goldsmith) Comer.

Lisa graduated from Edwardsburg High School, Class of 1995, and then went to Ferris State University to pursue a degree in nursing. While at Ferris, she met her future husband, Shane Strong, while living on campus. Shane and Lisa started dating in August of 1996 and have been together ever since. Lisa graduated with honors from Ferris in May of 2000 with an Associate in Applied Science in nursing. After college, Lisa and Shane moved to Michiana. Lisa started her nursing career at Memorial Hospital in May of 2000, which spanned over 25 years with Memorial and Beacon Health.

Lisa and Shane were married September 23, 2000 in Bristol, Indiana. Shortly after, they bought a starter house in Walkerton, Indiana and started a family. Steven was born in May 2003 and Travis and Evan soon followed. After their family grew to five, they built a house back in Lisa’s hometown of Edwardsburg and settled there in October 2007. During this time, Lisa moved from the Med-Surg department into the Mother-Baby department at Memorial. This is where she found her passion as a nurse helping mothers and babies.

Lisa loved her children without compromise. They were the center of her world. She loved being a part-time nurse and a full-time mother. She was very active in her sons' lives, making sure they were always spending time together. When they were young, she loved taking them on outings or playdates and made sure they were always doing and learning. Lisa dreaded the day the boys had to go to their first day of kindergarten but made sure to volunteer at school often to stay involved. Lisa was the boys biggest cheerleader and made sure they experienced a wide variety of sports and activities to participate in all through their time in school. She also made sure to have relationships with and show love to the other kids that were in her life no matter how they crossed paths. She also enjoyed spending time with her nieces and nephews, who she loved as her own. Lisa was a true momma bear. She was sweet and kind, but if her children were messed with, her claws and fangs would come out, defending and protecting them without mercy. Questions could come later, or not.

Lisa spent a lot of time and effort volunteering her time and talents. Lisa was a school classroom volunteer, cub scout leader, cub scout board member, boy scout board member, Girls on the Run coach, Edwardsburg P.T.O. member, team mom, a member of countless nurse committees and organizations through work. She volunteered for a countless number of events, and was a proud member of the “Badass Mom's Club of 2022”.

As the kids grew, Lisa decided to go back to school and further her education. She received her Bachelor of Science in nursing in December of 2016 from Western Michigan University. Lisa achieved a perfect 4.0 grade point average while earning her second degree, a feat she was very proud of.

Lisa loved spending time with her parents, sister, and her sister’s family. Her family makes it a priority to spend time together. Family activities included camping, water parks, boating, fishing, jet skiing, baseball games, cruises, sledding, trips to Aruba, holidays, birthdays, breakfasts, lunches, dinners, games, card games, etc. You name it, they did it and enjoyed every minute.

Lisa had a passion for nursing. She LOVED nursing. She knew as a little girl that she would become a nurse. She loved helping others and the bond that the nurses form while working together. She loved helping her patients and patient care. Midway through her career, she progressed to the point where she was a charge nurse, managing other nurses during her shifts. It didn’t take her long to realize this was not for her and she decided to leave the hospital and try out nursing at an OBGYN office. That wasn’t her path either, so she returned back to Memorial Hospital as a regular Mother/Baby nurse. This was where she belonged. Her management tried multiple times to get Lisa back to a charge nurse position, but Lisa knew what she wanted. She refused to leave the role of a regular nurse, as pure patient care was her love. She enjoyed educating and taking care of the new mothers and loved taking care of the babies. She also enjoyed training and mentoring the new nurses. She added to her passion by taking on a second job as a clinical instructor for St. Mary’s College, teaching nursing students as they trained on the Mother-Baby floor, a job she was very proud of.

Lisa had the most amazing electric personality. She loved to have fun and make sure everyone else around her did too. She always had a sparkle in her eye and a smile on her face. She loved to wear bright, sparkly colors, especially pink. She liked to make sure people felt welcome and happy when around her. She had a great sense of humor and loved to laugh and make others laugh. She loved to hang out and have a drink with friends. She enjoyed fishing and kayaking. She loved music, she loved to sing and dance. It was hard to keep her off the stage. She was a bright sparkling star.

Left to cherish her memory are: her husband, Shane D. Strong; parents, Dennis and Diana Comer; sons, Steven M. Strong, Travis D. Strong, and Evan J. Strong, all of Cassopolis; sister, Lynn M. (Todd) Blyly, of Middlebury; her niece, Morgan (Austin) Melvin of Goshen; nephew, Nathan (Brooke) Blyly of Elkhart; and great-nieces Charlotte and Lilly Melvin and Madden Blyly.

Visitation will be on Tuesday July 8th, starting at 4:00 p.m. with the service to follow at 7:30 p.m. at McGann Hay, Granger Chapel, 13260 SR 23, Granger IN 46530, enter off Cherry Rd.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in Lisa’s memory to: Memorial Hospital Mother Baby Unit, Beacon Health Foundation, 615 N. Michigan St., South Bend, IN 46601, or Hidden Acres Animal Rescue, 50582 Pleasant St., Dowagiac, MI 49047.