Melissa Maki

Melissa (Lissa) was born March 5, 1955, in West Palm Beach, FL to William and Peggy Brabham. She was raised in West Palm Beach and attended Palmetto Elementary School, Conniston Junior High School, and graduated from Forest Hill High School in 1973. After

graduation Lissa traveled to Kansas City to attend airline school, hoping to work in the airline industry. Upon her return to West Palm Beach she began working as a travel professional, which

turned out to be a lifelong passion. Throughout her 53-year career she traveled to many countries on three continents – North and South America, and Europe. She had an affinity for the Caribbean and traveled often to many of the islands there.

She was preceded in death by her father, William Brabham, mother Margaret (Peggy) Brabham, and brother Larry Brabham. Lissa is survived by her soul mate and devoted husband of 36 years,

Steve, her sister Margaret and brother-in-law Frank Little, brother Terry Brabham, nieces Jessica Nye and Grace Borass, sisters-in-law Carol Beber and Barbara Tiede, and brother-in-law David Maki.

In 1985 Lissa moved to Vail, Colorado for a job as a call center supervisor for the Vail Resort Association. It was in Vail that she met her future husband, Steve Maki. They started dating and

he became her soul mate and the love of her life.

In 1990 the couple moved from Vail, to Knoxville, TN where Steve had an opportunity to run his own kitchen at the Hickory Star Resort on Lake Norris. While in Tennessee, the two tied the knot with a beautiful wedding at an old grist mill in Big Ridge State Park. This was truly the beginning of their lifelong love affair, and Lissa’s first bout with cancer.

She was diagnosed with cervical cancer just three days after their wedding. After much heartache and discussion, she moved to Leeds, AL to be closer to her sister Margaret while Steve

stayed and worked in Knoxville. While in Leeds, Lissa and Margaret found the Oncology Unit at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB). The doctors there performed the necessary

surgery, and the cancer was “in the bucket.”

In 1991 Lissa and Steve moved to Laramie WY to allow Steve to finish his degree in Business Administration, graduating in 1993. In 1994 Lissa fulfilled her dream and opened her own “brick and mortar” travel agency, Sovereign Travel. Steve ran the back office, and Lissa was the office manager. After ten years as a business owner Lissa had to close the doors on her storefront. But she stayed with her passion and became a home-based travel professional.

In addition to her home-based travel business, she accepted an administrative position with Snowy Range Vision Center. While she wasn’t thrilled with the job, she worked there until her

retirement in 2017 and grew to love her coworkers. A select few became very dear and close friends she stayed in touch with until the end.

During her time in Laramie, Lissa became a devoted caregiver to her father-in-law, Leroy Maki. In 2017 Leroy was diagnosed with Amyloidosis and suffered from it until his death in September

2018. Her amazing hard work, love, and care for Leroy filled his days with compassion, peace, and acceptance. Truly an angel working with an angel.

While in Laramie, Lissa and Steve joined Grand Avenue Baptist Church (GABC) and were members there until they moved to Leeds, AL. It was with GABC that Lissa’s love and passion for missions truly blossomed. She joined the Women’s Missionary Union (WMU), a Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) organization that helps fund and support missionaries all over the world through programs like their Cooperative Program, the Lottie Moon Offering for

International Missions, the Annie Armstrong Offing for North American Missions, and the Benny Delmar State Mission fund for SBC churches in Wyoming.

While at GABC she discovered “Samaritan’s Purse” and found a way for her own little church to directly impact others around the world for Christ. Through Samaritans Purse help and resources GACB was able to purchase a house for someone, build a community water well, and buy a farm for a family to run and live on. Lissa loved this type of kingdom impact!

Lissa then found her favorite mission project in “Operation Christmas Child,” a shoebox ministry also sponsored by Samaritan’s Purse. Operation Christmas Child ships shoeboxes filled with

Christmas gifts to children in need around the world together with the message of the Gospel of Christ Jesus. Her church in Laramie was small, but through Lissa’s leadership and perseverance,

several hundred shoeboxes were sent to children in need. A labor of love from which she never tired.

In 2021 Lissa and Steve moved to Leeds AL to be closer to her sister Margaret and brother-inlaw, Frank. Lissa found a home just a half mile from Margaret, and their relationship as sisters

was rekindled, and turned into an inferno. They did everything with one another and truly enjoyed their “sister-time” together.

Lissa almost immediately joined the loving fellowship of First Baptist Church in Leeds. Her passion for missions and the fire for WMU continued to burn. Her leadership brought back the

discontinued mission project “Operation Christmas Child” (OCC). Lissa loved Christmas and wanted every child to celebrate it with her. Lissa brought a passion and fire to this project that

soon became contagious throughout her church. Through her own giving, fundraisers, and pizza shoebox packing parties, the whole church became involved. Now each Christmas, hundreds of

shoebox gift boxes are being sent to deserving children worldwide. OCC was "her project” and became her testimony about her love for Jesus, and Jesus’ love for them. Her love of Jesus

touched many lives in her church, in Leeds, and truly around the world.

Lissa’s heroic battle with multiple myeloma began in April of 2025 and was truly inspirational. She never asked, “why me?’ Rather it was, “what’s next?” There were so many trials, setbacks,

and disappointments, but she continued to press on. Her faith in God never wavered, her love for Jesus grew stronger, her love of life and the love she shared with her husband Steve gave her the

strength to keep going – until she couldn't. Then Jesus welcomed Lissa to her eternal home.

A Celebration of Life service will be held on Saturday August 1, 2026 at 10:00 AM at First Baptist Church, Leeds.

7481 Parkway Drive

Leeds, AL 35094

205-699-6141

Livestream Service available online at

http://www.fbcleeds.org