Melissa Dabel

Melissa Dabel passed away peacefully in her home as the sun set on Friday, June 13, 2025.

On August 12, 1969, Melissa Jean Dabel was born to Barbara and Walter Dabel and immediately became a baby sister to Heather. The family home in the East Foothills of San Jose welcomed her with open arms.

As a child, Melissa loved having fun and riding bikes with Heather, doing fun activities with their mother, and helping her dad in the garden. Summer fun included playing outside while enjoying fruit from the trees and berries from the vines in the backyard. Melissa raised rabbits and sheep in 4-H. She loved horses and took lessons, finally getting her own horse, Mickey.

Melissa was a proud graduate of James Lick High School, the same school her father and sister graduated from. She then went on to Chico State University to pursue a degree in Fashion Merchandising. This degree led to a position with Nordstrom as a buyer for the children’s department, a position she held until her children came along.

Melissa’s children Chloe and Liam were her pride and joy. She raised them in Chico, with lots of camping trips to the coast and the mountains, and enjoyed watching them grow and blossom over the years. Leaving them behind was the hardest part of dying for Melissa.

While raising her children, Melissa started her second career as a special education teacher and found her life’s work. She loved the kids in her classrooms over the years and delighted in helping them grow. She was proud to follow both her parents into the teaching profession. She was happy to see Chloe become a special education teacher and Liam decide to pursue becoming a math teacher.

Melissa met Lance, the love of her life, on New Years Day 2022. Their love brightened her days and sustained her during her illness. The two of them savored daily life together and were almost never apart. They enjoyed adventures in places ranging from Gualala to London and from Big Sky to Little Rock, and at music festivals such as Wildlands, Railbird, Aftershock, BottleRock, and GoldenSky. They also enjoyed Champagne Wednesdays, which Melissa would recommend to any friends (or others reading this obituary) who find the time between weekends to be a bit too long. Melissa and Lance were engaged at sunset on the rim of the Grand Canyon on New Year’s Eve. They ran out of time for marriage but were able to live the vows.

Melissa had friends who were like sisters. She had a sister who was a true friend. She kept her mother and father close in her heart, even after they passed. She had children she adored. Animals loved her and she was surrounded by her pets throughout her illness. Melissa was comfortable with dying because she viewed the passing from one generation to another as just another part of life.

Melissa is survived by her children Chloe Anne Davis (partner Sage) and Liam Jackson Davis (partner Laila), her sister Heather Hignite (Dennis) and nephew Corey, and her fiancé Lance Martin with his children Chase and Spencer. She is also survived by loving aunts and uncles, cousins, extended family, and a large network of friends.

A celebration of Melissa’s life is scheduled for August 2 at a location to be announced in the future.