Ozella Faye Lookadoo Melugin

Ozella Faye Lookadoo Melugin, age 85, of Cypress, Texas, passed away peacefully on Tuesday, June 17, 2025. She was a beloved mother, grandmother, sister, aunt and friend. Ozella was born May 3, 1940, in Point Cedar, Arkansas to the late George Henry and Mattie Winnie (Burchfield) Lookadoo.

She married Joe Fredrick Melugin on June 18, 1960. Joe and Ozella lived for many years in La Porte, Texas, where Joe worked for NASA, and Ozella cared for her family and worked at La Porte High School. Following Joe’s death in 1993, Ozella moved back to Arkansas where she lived in Hot Springs Village. During these years in Hot Springs, she worked for Arkansas Rehabilitation Services and spent treasured times with family and new friends. In 2002, after being diagnosed with cancer, Ozella returned to the Houston area to be close to MD Anderson for treatment and to enjoy some of her grandchildren on a daily basis. The only thing that would have made her happier would have been to have all of her grandchildren nearby. She loved spending time with each of them and did her best to teach them her hobbies (sewing, quilting and gardening), games and to enjoy time outside in her cul-de-sac and in her oversized back yard. She never missed a sporting event (volleyball, baseball, track, softball, soccer, football, basketball, horseback riding, robotics competitions and anything else they might dabble in). She loved every chance to travel and occupied the right seat on many cross-country vacations.

Ozella is preceded in death by her husband Joe, her parents George Henry Lookadoo and Mattie Winnie Burchfield Lookadoo; brothers George Raymond Lookadoo, Doyle Lookadoo, Waldo Lookadoo, and Emmit Lookadoo; sisters Lois Cormack, Lota Cook, and Edwina Cooper. Her survivors include son, Michael Melugin (Deb); daughters Kay Kelly (Jeff) and Anita Melugin; grandchildren Ashley Melugin, Nicole Yeager, Stephen Yeager, Nicholas Melugin (Emma), Jacob Eversole, Ryan Yeager and Grace Eversole, and many nieces and nephews with whom she had a very special relationship.

A Celebration of Life will be held on August 2 at 10:30 AM at Smith Family Funeral Home-Ruggles Wilcox Chapel, 517 Clay Street, Arkadelphia, Arkansas 71923.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to MD Anderson Cancer Center – Sarcoma Center, P.O. Box 4486, Houston, TX 77210-4486 or online at In memory of Ozella Melugin - MD Anderson Cancer Center.

Arrangements by Smith Family Funeral Home-Ruggles Wilcox Chapel, 517 Clay Street, Arkadelphia, AR. www.smithfamilycares.com