Melissa Antunes

July 14, 1973 - February 9, 2020

Melissa was born on July 14th, 1973 to Patricia (Adams) Antunes and Andrew Antunes. As the youngest of four children she completed the Antunes family. Melissa spent her childhood growing up in Putnam Valley, enjoying life while swimming in the backyard pool, playing with her close friends and loving a variety of pets. As a child, she was always curious and creative, which nurtured a propensity for learning languages. Melissa graduated from Lakeland High School in 1991 and became fluent in Spanish while pursuing her Bachelor’s Degree in Education. She graduated from Arizona State University and completed her Master’s Degree shortly after. While pursuing her education she studied in Spain, and loved traveling through many European countries. One of her favorite places to be was on the family farm located in upstate New York. She spent countless happy moments there, 4 wheeling, hiking, swimming in the pond and hanging out with her upstate friends. Since childhood, the farm was her happy place. Melissa became a Spanish teacher at a private school before becoming part of the Foreign Language Department at Lakeland High School. She was passionate about working with her students and enjoyed immersing her students in the Spanish and Italian languages and cultures. She took her Lakeland students on several trips abroad during her career. Her creative side was very evident in her classroom as its decor was always brimming with color and culture. She loved participating in cultural week at school, adorning herself in the traditional garments of countries from around the globe. She will be remembered as an intelligent, supportive and caring professional whose love of teaching and for her students was paramount. Although her passion for teaching her students was so important to her, Melissa’s deepest sense of joy and love came from being a mother to her two children, Noah and Maggie. She loved cooking for her family, traveling with her children; taking them to museums and most importantly sharing laughter with them. Melissa was predeceased by her beloved mother Patricia in 1985. She is survived by her children Noah and Maggie, her father; Andrew Antunes and stepmother Ada Ereno, a sister; Maxine Antunes-Reiff, a brother and sister-in-law; Andrew and Angela (Graci) Antunes; and a brother Steven Antunes, and several nieces, nephews and grand nieces and nephews. All who love her deeply. Melissa was a loving, caring person with a heart of gold. She gave of herself freely to everyone that knew her. We are deeply saddened by her loss and will miss her dearly, but we know that heaven and her mother have welcomed her with opened arms