Funeral services set as F-M community mourns loss of MMA fighter

FARGO, N.D. (Valley News Live) - Many across the valley are mourning the loss of 21-year-old Shalie Lipp of Breckenridge. Shalie died along I-94 on the Red River Bridge in between Fargo and Moorhead on Sunday, May 7th.

The visitation will take place at St. Mary’s Catholic Church, in Breckenridge, MN, on Saturday, May 13, 2023, from 9:30 AM -10:45 AM followed by memorial service at 11:00 AM.

Earlier this week, several of Shalie’s friends gathered at the Academy of Combat Arts off of Main Ave. in Fargo to remember their friend. Shalie was known to spend most of her time at the facility. The owner, Dylan Spicer, commented, “She was a promising young athlete, really fell in love with martial arts, and showed a lot of potential.”

Friend, Michaela Thibert, met Shalie when the two were competing against one another in high school gymnastics. “That wouldn’t stop her from making a friend,” Michaela says.

“Every time she would walk into a room she just absolutely blew up the room,” explains Taylor Michels, a friend and training partner of Shalie’s. Michel’s says Shalie had a magnetic personality and strong work ethic. Her nutrition and strength coach, Eric Sweeney, adds, “She was an inspiration to so many people.”

The 21-year-old will be deeply missed by friends, family, and the Fargo-Moorhead community as a whole.

Michel’s says he liked everything about Shalie and that, “It didn’t matter if you knew her for 10 years or 10 minutes everybody felt how big her heart was.”

Her obituary reads: “She was a ray of sunshine from the moment she entered the world.”

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