Melissa was born March 14, 1955, in Monahans, Texas, to William and Jacqueleyn McAuley. After graduation from Robert E. Lee High School in Tyler, she attended Stephen F. Austin State University in Nacogdoches, where she received a B.A. in English and history in 1976 and an M.A. in English in 1978.
After receiving her master’s degree, Melissa dedicated her professional life to education. In the late 1970s, she worked as a graduate intern in SFA’s English Department, teaching freshman- and sophomore-level composition and literature courses. Throughout most of the 1980s, she taught English, history, and geography at Zavalla High School and directed the English and history programs there. In 1989, she returned to her roots at SFA, where she spent the remainder of her career. Her talents, interests, and knowledge of the SFA community led her into several positions at the university. From 1990 to 1997, she worked in the Academic Assistance and Resource Center (SFA’s tutoring center), first heading the Center’s developmental writing program and finally directing the entire AARC. In 1997, she rejoined the adjunct faculty in English; from 2001 to 2007, she worked as a research specialist in SFA’s Center for East Texas Studies; and from 2007 to 2013, she served as the History Department’s writing coordinator, in which role she helped the department’s graduate students develop their writing skills. She retired from SFA in 2013, having spent over 30 years at the university in different capacities.
Melissa took tremendous pride in her academic and professional accomplishments, but an overview of those aspects of her life cannot begin to capture the impact she had on everyone she met. She had a mischievous sense of humor, an infectious laugh, an intense commitment to having fun, and a fierce love for everyone who was fortunate enough to be her friend. She loved decorating and entertaining and created a beautiful home in Nacogdoches for herself, for her husband Jim, and for their many dogs (who had better lives than most people do). Melissa left the world a better place for her hundreds of students, for her colleagues at SFA, for her family, and for her many friends.
Melissa was preceded in death by her parents and her nephew Andrew McAuley. She is survived by her husband of 39 years Jim Darlington and by her brothers, Michael McAuley and wife Penny of Garrison and Scott McAuley and wife Melanie of Hillsboro, numerous nieces, nephews and cousins. Melissa’s family would like to thank the doctors, nurses, aides, and others who provided care for her during her illness.
Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.casonmonk-metcalf.com for the Darlington family.
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