Melissa Ann Miller Dow

1952 - 2025

Melissa Ann Miller Dow, 72, of Memphis, Tennessee, passed away peacefully on April 20, 2025, at her home surrounded by her family.

Born on September 2, 1952, in Memphis, Melissa was the third daughter of the "Miller Six" of Germantown, Tennessee. Melissa attended the Hutchison School in Memphis and the University of Tennessee at Knoxville. On November 3, 1973, she married David Vaughan Dow, also from Memphis, at Saint George's Episcopal Church.

Melissa was born into the third-generation construction equipment and drainage products business, then known as Choctaw Inc., owned and operated by her family. Later, with David, she owned and co-founded Trench Safety and Supply Inc., a specialty underground equipment business primarily serving site and utility contractors. Together, they grew the company from a small, rented trailer in 1993 with two employees to three locations with twenty employees until its sale in 2016.

Her second home, where she felt most alive and at peace, was at Eden Isle on Greers Ferry Lake in Heber Springs, Arkansas. Melissa and David honeymooned there in 1973 at the Red Apple Inn and have owned a home on the island since 1989. She loved knitting, feeding wild birds, wood fires in the stone fireplace, and the vibrant fall hues.

Melissa is predeceased by her parents, Overton Harris Miller Jr. and Margaret Banning Miller. She is survived by David, her husband of 52 years; her sons, Robert Overton Dow and Lawrence Vaughan Dow (Jennifer); her four grandchildren, Lawrence Vaughan Dow Jr., Gentry Reeder Dow, Hadley Mae Huddleston-Dow, and Overton Harris Dow, who called Melissa by her childhood nickname "Cha Cha"; her five sisters, Margaret Miller McDonald (late Edward), Jan Miller Rochelle (Al), Elizabeth Miller Vick (Jim), Susan Miller Davis (Mark), and Barbara Miller Stockfish (late John); and numerous cousins, nieces, and nephews.

On Friday, April 25, the immediate family will have a small, private graveside ceremony in the morning, followed by a visitation at 10 A.M. and a funeral at 11 A.M. at the Church of the Holy Communion.

In lieu of flowers, Melissa asked that donations be made to the charity of your choice.