A Tribute to Melissa Medley MACP ’07

Remembering Melissa Medley

A Tribute by Christy Broyles MACP ’09

On April 7, 2022, we lost our loving and caring friend Melissa Medley at the age of 54. Her mom, dad and sister were by her side as she passed. If you knew Melissa, there were certain things that were extremely obvious. Her laugh, contagious and big and so full of life, that incited your own laughter. Her care, a genuine care for everyone she knew and served her and others well as a hospice nurse. And of course, her heart, a heart so big she would do for anyone and everyone she encountered. Ironically it was her heart that failed her. She was diagnosed in her 40s with a congenital heart disease that today would be discovered at birth. That heart that loved so big and so hard endured a lot in her final years, but she never lost that ability to love those around her.

If you were around The Seattle School (at that time MHGS) from 2004-2006, you knew Melissa and she knew you. She was often seen with her “twin” Melissa Maudsley, who we also lost a few years ago, or any number of others in conversation that always included laughter. She had a group of cohorts from school who met weekly to play cards, laugh, and release the stress of school and life. It was during that time I was able to witness firsthand the giftedness of her training as a hospice nurse when our classmate Karen Leslie was diagnosed with and succumbed to cancer in a two-month span. Melissa was a constant presence by Karen’s side, helping walk Karen and her family through those last days. It is because of her experience that she had seeing so many on that journey, she walked strongly and confidently through her last days as well.

Melissa leaves a legacy with those who attended school with her including her friends near and far who were more than friends, they were family, and with her family in Virginia. Her legacy is loving loud, loving with laughter, and loving with all of her being. She is truly missed.

-Christy Broyles, MACP ’09