Melissa Jane Howard

Melissa Howard, 67, passed away on October 17, 2023, after a nearly year-long battle with uterine cancer. 

Melissa was born on November 27, 1955, to Mel and Marian Thompson.  She was the third of four siblings.  She grew up in Mound City, Missouri.  After graduating from high school, she attended Northwest Missouri State where she earned her degree in Biology with a minor in Chemistry. Melissa met Randy Howard while attending Northwest Missouri State.  They married on July 9, 1977.  They were blessed with two sons, Brett and Travis. 

Melissa's passion was helping kids.  After teaching Science in Northwest Missouri for 6 years, Randy and Melissa moved to Aurora, Missouri in 1986.  In Aurora, Melissa taught seventh grade science until 1999, when she retired to help care for her ailing father. After his passing, she started the volunteer program in the Aurora schools in 2000.  She retired again in 2014 shortly before her first grandson was born. Melissa also helped with the youth programs at the Aurora United Methodist Church, where she and Randy have been members since 1987.  Randy and Melissa moved to Ozark, Missouri in 2019. 

Melissa's first priority in life was always her family.  She was a loving wife, parent, and grandparent. She would drop any plans to make the three- and-a- half-hour drive to St. Louis to spend time with her kids and grandkids.  She was an active grandparent that didn't hesitate to get down on the floor to play with her grandkids, and she always had ways of keeping them entertained.  Her selflessness, her smile, and her sense of humor will be truly missed by everyone she knew.

Melissa was preceded in death by her parents, Mel and Marian Thompson.  She is survived by her husband, Randy, two sons, Brett (Renee) and Travis (Kathleen), four grandsons, Logan, Brady, Noah, Hudson, one brother, Steve (Connie) Thompson, and two sisters, Diane (Terry) Thompson, and Candie (Albert) Livers. 

The funeral service will be held on Sunday, October 22nd at 1:00. A celebration of life will immediately follow and will end by 4:00. Both will be held at the following location:

The Barley House at Moon Town Crossing

3060 N. Kentwood Ave.

Springfield, MO 65803

The family is asking for donations, in lieu of flowers, to one of the below:

·       Melissa Howard Pate School Support Fund through the Community Foundation of the Ozarks (helps provide Elementary teachers and students with school supplies)

Link here: https://cfozarks.fcsuite.com/erp/donate/create/fund?funit_id=10738

Or at www.cfozarks.org/donate, you can type Pate in the search bar at bottom and the fund will populate.

or to:

·       Aurora United Methodist Church