Melissa was born October 3, 1975 to Joe Lee Lafitte and Diane Thode Lafitte. A few years later she was joined by a little sister Dixie. Growing up Melissa was a member of First Baptist Blanchard and participated in Girl Scouts. Melissa always enjoyed helping her teachers at school and during recess. It is no wonder that after graduating from Northwood High School. She would eventually become a teacher.
Melissa attended Louisiana Tech where she was a member of the Delta Gamma Sorority and graduated from LSU Shreveport with her bachelor's degree.
Eventually she would obtain her Master's of Arts in Education from Centenary College of Louisiana and go on to complete an additional thirty hours and earned certifications for regular, special education and reading specialist. Melissa was a teacher with Caddo Parish for seventeen years until this school year when she made a new and joyful start as the second grade teacher at St. John Berchmans School.
Melissa met the love of her life Tommy "Tom" Waters in 1996 while taking a class at Bossier Parish Community College. She said when she sat down in that classroom she looked around for someone she could be friends with and Tommy was who she noticed first. Little did she know then that they would be married three years later.
Over the last twenty-five years with Tommy. Melissa has built an incredible life having two sons Mitchell and Matthew. She expressed regularly that the most important thing was to create memories with her boys. Melissa did this by traveling to Lafayette, Louisiana to visit extended family, taking annual trips to Galveston, Texas, Gulf Shores, Alabama, and Broken Bow, Oklahoma as well as traveling the world with those she loved.
Melissa, a true Southern Woman enjoyed cooking from her Chef John Folse cookbook, a gift given to her many years ago. She always appreciated sitting around a fire and listening to county music while talking and laughing with friends and family. In recent years Melissa began running and completed multiple half marathons' and also completed the full Louisiana Marathon. She ran her last half marathon a few weeks ago alongside her son Mitchell.
Melissa loved her family, she loved riding to school each morning with her son Matthew. She loved being with her son Mitchell. Melissa greatly enjoyed her lunch dates with Tommy, always remembering to make time for each other.
Family is what she leaves behind family is her greatest legacy, her shoes will never be filled.
Melissa is preceded in death by her maternal grandparents: Kenneth and Joyce Thode, her paternal grandparents: Leo and Ora Lee Lafitte, her great-grandmother, Myrtle Thode, her mother-in-law, Norma Waters, and her father-in-law, Jerry Waters.
Left to cherish Mellisa's beautiful memories will be her loving husband, Tommy Waters, two wonderful sons: Mitchell and Matthew Waters, her father, Joe Lafitte, her mother, Diane Thode Lafitte (John), one sister, Dixie Lafitte Deaver (Randy), a brother-in-law, John Waters, a sister-in-law, Lizzy Waters Huval (Stephen) and two nieces:Lindsey Deaver and Sylvie Faye Huval and an abundance of loving family and friends.
Honorary pallbearers are Randy Deaver, John Waters, Greg Formby, Ralph Formby, Russell Broussard, John Stuckey, and Daniel Slay.
The family would like to extend a special thank you to our friends at St. John Berchmans School, Chad Welch and the staff of Christus Highland Hospital, family and friends near and far for all of the loving support expressed and the prayers and condolences extended during such a difficult time.
A Celebration of a Life Well Lived will be held on Monday, 12/30/2024 at 2:00PM in the Hill Crest Memorial Funeral Home Chapel, 601 Hwy 80, Haughton, Louisiana 71037. There will be a visitation time period just prior to the celebration to begin at 1:00PM.
