She was born August 1, 1953 in Beckley, WV and raised in Ury “Cooktown” WV, which was a place that remained dear to her heart.
She graduated from Pineville High School in 1971 and continued on to obtain her nursing degree while raising two small children. She loved her family deeply, enjoyed dancing and was an avid bowler in her younger years.
Melissa was preceded in death by her father, John “Chucky” Byron Cook and sister, Kathy Blevins.
Those left to cherish her memory include her husband of 48 years, Ralph Douglas Saunders; her mother, Freda Mae Feamster; her sister, Kimberly Jo Cook-Petitt; brother, David Shane Cook; her two children, Rachel and John Saunders, and her three grandchildren, Caitlyn, Kylee and Garrett Saunders, and her little buddy “Levi” the family dog.