Melissa Blair Michener
2024
Melissa Blair (Powell) Michener, daughter of Louise Harper Powell and Fred Bouch Powell, was born on November 29, 1959 in Decatur, Alabama. She grew up in Greenwood, S.C. Graduating from Mars Hill University in 1981 with a degree in English, she later studied to become a technical writer and worked for IBM for many years. Melissa's friends at Pullen Memorial Baptist Church and those in the Raleigh area knew her for her insight, humor, intelligence, love of small animals (hamsters), strength, endurance and sheer determination. These traits served her well when, in December, 1999, she was hospitalized with severe pneumonia which became ARDS. At the end of January, she awoke on a respirator...