Melissa Judith West of Santa Fe died peacefully in her home on Tuesday, May 26, 2020.
Melissa was born on September 16, 1965, the middle child of Richard and Viola West who preceded her in death. From a young age, Melissa excelled academically and would go on to graduate with honors from UNM earning a Bachelors of Business Administration. She then worked for 25 years in commercial real estate both because she was a highly capable, dedicated professional and because she lived for her children, working to provide them the best life – being forever their biggest fan and proudest advocate. For nearly three decades Melissa was a devoted companion to O.C. who was by her side until the moment she took her last breath. Until the end, Melissa was a caring sister, ready and willing to lend a comforting ear anytime, day or night.
Melissa’s curiosity and intelligence made her a trusted advisor to many. Her unconditional love and support made her an amazing mother, grandmother and godmother. Her lively personality and loyalty made her a cherished family member and good friend. Her unyielding strength and will to survive made her an inspiration to us all. And although it is with broken hearts that we say goodbye, it is Melissa’s faith in God that has undoubtedly led her home.
Melissa is survived by: her daughter Jessica West & Jason Brown; her son Josh Castaneda; her life partner Octavio Castaneda, his son Joe Castaneda (Diana) and grandchildren Joaquin & Mikaela; her brother Rick West, his family Ryan, Alyssa, Keagan & their mother Brandi; her sister Pam West & Abie Moya; and her beloved aunts, uncles, and cousins.
Visitation will be held on Wednesday, June 3, 2020 at Rivera Kiva Chapel of Light located at 417 E Rodeo Road, Santa Fe. A rosary for Melissa will be led by Los Caballeros at 5:00 p.m. with viewing to follow. Please be advised that face coverings will be required and we ask that all respect social distancing when offering condolences to the family.
Funeral mass will begin at 9:50 a.m. on Thursday, June 4, 2020 at The Cathedral Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi. Guests are asked to arrive 30 minutes in advance to complete registration and seating requirements in compliance with COVID-19 guidelines. A procession to Rosario Cemetery will follow to lay Melissa in her final resting place. Please note that only 5 people at a time will be able to exit their vehicles in order to offer their last goodbyes.
Pallbearers include: Josh Castaneda, Octavio Castaneda, Joe Castaneda, Rick West, Alex Puglisi, and Abie Moya. Honorary pallbearers include: Ryan West, Louie Carrion, Marco Carrion and Waldo Ulabarri.
Eulogy by: Carla Basham
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About |
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| Name | Melissa Judith West |
| Date of Birth | September 16th, 1965 |
| Date of Death | May 26th, 2020 |
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Memorial |
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| Funeral Home | Rivera Family Funeral Home - Santa Fe | |
| Address |
417 Rodeo Road Santa Fe NM 87505 United States |
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published a tribute .
Milly life will never be the same without you. We had so many fun times and beautiful memories. You always said I was your protector but now you have THE BEST PROTECTOR to take care of you. May God continue to hold you in his arms. You are gone but will never be forgotten.
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published a comment .
I am so sorry to hear about your sister. May God Bless you and your family during this time. I will always have fond memories of all of you growing up as older teens especially around the river park.
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published a tribute .
Auntie Lisa,
The love you have shared with me since I was a kid has been kept in my heart making me the person I am today. Thank you for loving me and my family as much as you did. I was so proud to “floor it” in my mustang with you recently, missing work to take you shopping, buying newspaper for Black Friday deals and having you count on me to laugh at your inappropriate jokes In front of all our family. I enjoyed your voicemails so much that I would save them and still have two, one from two weeks ago and another from my birthday. It’ll be nice to hear your voice. Thank you for being a good sister to my dad, a good aunt to my brother and sister and for whispering behind their backs that I was your favorite. You would always call me hijito and, to be honest, I never knew what it meant growing up but I’ll always remember you for it. I have a lot to say and look forward to sharing when our family can come together to celebrate your wonderful life. I love you! - Your favorite nephew
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So beautiful Ryan. Your were the light of your Auntie Lissa's life. I Love you my nephew.
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published a tribute .
My memories of Melissa will always be when I was little, going to visit my family in Santa Fe with my grandma Lena Anaya Alvarez. I loved seeing Pam and Melissa and spending time with them. It has been over 30 years since I have seen everyone, but family is family and love is love. Prayers to my extended family for the loss of Melissa. I pray that God comforts you and may the memories you shared with her bring you peace. RIP Melissa. Love from your AZ cousins...Annie Alvarez Romero(Danny) and myself, Stephanie Avalos and family. Annie is the daughter of Adelena (Lena) Anaya Alvarez and I am Lena's granddaughter.
published a comment .
Dearest Melissa,
I'm so deeply saddened to hear about your passing. We have been friends since 1st grade at Wood Gormley and I have many memories of our childhood. I also remember what a good student you were and how you always excelled in academics. I know Josh and Jessica were your pride and joy and you were the greatest mother God could have given them. You always valued education and wanted the best for your children. We shared many conversations about St Michael's High School and your children's college experiences. You were a fantastic mother and a great sister, cousin and friend to many. I'm happy you are not suffering anymore but I'm very sorry for your premature passing. I have peace knowing you are with your mom and dad in heaven. I know how much you loved God and we know you are in Heaven. I'm saddened to have missed your funeral. I just saw today that it was yesterday. I thought there would not be a funeral due to COVID. So sad and sorry to have missed it. Just know I always admired the beautiful woman and mother that you were. Rest in Peace Melissa West, you will be missed and you were truly loved. Love You, Marsha Ortiz Davis
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published a tribute .
Melissa,
It's been a long time since I last saw you but I was shocked to hear of your unexpected passing. The memories of your humor and generosity are still burned in my brain as if it were not over a decade ago. I remember I was a bit nervous coming to meet you and the fam for the first time as an evacuee. Added to that, the strange circumstances of me coming to live with you at a moment's notice (with my food-snatching dog in tow). This would have been a bit over whelming if it weren't for your dark sense of humor that immediately put me at ease. I have to admit I rather enjoyed watching the stark personality contrasts between you and Jess unfold but also because you can easily tell there was plenty of love behind it all. You deeply cared for your children and family above all else. To OC, Josh, Jess, Pam, Rick, Carla, Alex and the rest of the family, my deepest condolences. It was so very obvious how tight knit you all were, and what a big part she played in that dynamic. May you all find comfort that she is at rest now, in peace.
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published a tribute .
Melissa, It has been a privilege knowing you since you were young and watching you grow up into a loving and responsible mother. We always enjoyed your company and shared many memories of your mom, dad, and family. We will miss our long conversations that we had together and will always remember all the good times we had. You will be deeply be missed and we will meet you again in heaven.
Our thoughts and prayers are with you OC, Rick, Pam, Jessica, Josh, and family.
With all our love and prayers,
Robert, Susie, and Sabrina Garza
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published a tribute .
Meli, so many memories keep flashing through my head, I can’t believe that you are really gone. I know you weren’t feeling well but you kept beating the odds, and I really thought you would be on this earth longer than me. It was you who taught me everything about taxes, and licenses when I started my business. It was you I relied on for Business advice my entire career. It was you who I called when I needed to know if I had a medical issue because you knew more than the Doctors. It was you gave me advice on prescriptions. It was you who supported me when I had relationship issues. It was you who helped me with my kids and made them the Frito Pies they Loved so much. It was you who was so excited to buy Ryan an Insta-Pot and teach him how to use it. It was you who Made Lissie laugh with your humor. It was you who showed them Love and checked in on them. It was you who gave me a Beautiful Smart Niece, and a Handsome Kind Hearted Nephew. You brought joy, anger, and frustration from which we both learned life lessons. What will I do without you? You are so intelligent, you always bragged about your Brother, but it was you who was always the smartest in the Family. You thrived on knowledge and learning. You ran an office doing the job of three people Something no one else could do. I know you always felt like you weren’t the successful one of the three, but you are way more successful than I could ever hope to be in what means most in Life. Caring for others, always wanting to help, just waiting for that phone call so you could run out the door to share your knowledge and help a Friend or Family member. Your Children Love
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published a comment .
This Illness may have taken away your income and financial freedom. But it never took away your giving Heart and Generosity! You Loved Black Friday, and no one could find a bargain like you. You saved me $100’s every year. But the best part was watching how happy it made you to be able to afford to give everyone in the Family something. You never wanted to leave anyone out, even when you had nothing of your own. Your Heart May have stopped beating, but I know where ever you are in Heaven, you are giving someone something right now. The last 5 years we have become closer than ever before. You have taught me so many important things about Life that I wish I could start over. I know it wasn’t good for you, I know it was hard losing it all. But all I learned by watching you has made me begin to change in my Life. I don’t want to say goodbye, so I wont. I may even continue to send you a Facebook message, or text you, maybe even call hoping you will answer. I’m going to act like you are still in my Life. I’m going to Pray that you are safe and Happy without struggle and that you finally have your freedom and Peace that you deserve.
I Love You and always will. You will forever have a place in my Heart, I will never forget you. I miss you so much!
I’m sorry for any time we wasted in separation of each other, and I’m Thankful for all the time we stayed close to one another. I will always be there for your Children, and I will continue to give them your Love through me, because I know how much you Love them and want them to have a good Life.
I am proud to call you my Sister!
Love you with all my Heart, your Brother forever!
PS: The Radio won’t stop playing Journey! I know how much you Loved them, I will always think of you when I hear their Songs.
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published a tribute .
Dearest Melissa,
I will cherish all the wonderful memories I have of you since I was just a child myself. You were a wonderful mother and you raised such beautiful and bright children; one of them I get to call my best friend! I will cherish these memories forever ! We will miss you dearly . Jessica, Josh and O.C. I will continue to keep all of you in my prayers and we love and support you .
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published a tribute .
Melissa! I remember being a little girl and my Mom would take me to visit your Grandma Pita. We were excited by the yummy treats your Grandma gave us. I last saw you at the Veteran’s cemetery. We said we would have lunch! We will someday. Love you!
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published a tribute .
Melissa, you will be missed a lot! You were a wonderful mother and always such a happy person. You always put a smile on my face and made me laugh! You are missed. I feel lucky to ha e you be apart of my life. You were such a special person and are loved so much! My deepest sympathy goes out to your family and my best friend Jessica, I can’t imagine the sorrow they are feeling. However, I know you are looking down on us from heaven and sending your love. You and family will always be in my heart. God bless. Lots of love, Lisa Buell
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published a tribute .
I will greatly miss my Godmother. She was the first person I would tell all my secrets to. She took care of me as a child and advised me as an adult. She always made me feel loved and special. My heart will forever miss a piece from now on. I love you my Godmother.
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published a comment .
Meli, life was not easy for you. From the first cancer until your last day on Earth you suffered a lot, no more suffering cousin.
We have shared a lot of memories. I remember laughing with you until we couldn’t any more. And...I will never forget how you helped me out so many times to check on my parents, to do investigation work for me and how you were always thinking of my children by prayer and gifts you gave to them and James and me, never leaving Zoey out. You always supported me in anything I did. I appreciate it all.
I’m relieved you are not suffering anymore but I will miss you tremendously. There will always be a void bc us cousins who grew up together, near and far always carry each other’s presence with us.
I will always be there for your children and O.C. and help where I can. It’s not goodbye bc we will reunite again, that’s a promise from God. I love you Meli.
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published a tribute .
So very sorry to hear of your loss - what a wonderful woman/mother/friend.
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published a tribute .
Melissa, I will miss you dearly! Everytime we were together all we did was laugh and have a good time! I'm so grateful you were in my life!
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published a tribute .
Unfortunately, we never had the chance to meet Melissa. There were several plans to but her health kept postponing those plans. We have met Melissa’s wonderful children so we know Melissa was something special.
Our deepest sympathies for your loss at this time. We know your hearts are breaking. Please cherish all the wonderful memories of your mother and allow them to help heal your hearts. You’re all in our thoughts and prayers.
Love,
Chris, Sue, Nick and Tyler Brown.
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published a tribute .
What a beautiful tribute. I didn’t personally know Melissa, but I feel like I do, because Rick speaks of her often and speaks so highly of her. She may not physically be here with you, but she will live on in your heart. My thoughts and prayers are with your family.
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