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A Message From the Family

MELISSA ANN BERRIDGE

On July 29, 2006 Melissa Ann Berridge died in the wreck of a skydiving plane in Sullivan, Missouri. Melissa was born to Barbara Berridge and Jim Berridge on January 2, 1968 at K.I. Sawyer AFB, Michigan (her siblings still claim that she was hatched from an egg deposited on the hospital grounds by some sort of bird). After this illustrious birth (hatching) Missy lived in many cities, towns and nests around the U.S. In late 2005 she came to roost in Maryland Heights, Missouri, where she went to work for Claire McCaskill’s 2006 campaign for the U.S. Senate (may Claire win, and win big!).

Melissa had many interests, from skydiving to politics, and from gardening to writing. Among her notebooks the following poem stands out in particular:

She, the luminous soul, made all the happier
by the twinkling green,
perished in the afterglow of a hearty laugh  

We, the fireflies, still basking in the flare and
still dancing in the mirthful music 

Took no notice

As it should be

The luminous soul is celebrated by mother Barbara Berridge and sister Norlynn John of Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, sister Bethany Berridge of Austin, Texas, brother James Berridge of Edwardsville, Illinois, and nieces Jessica John Franklin, Carmen Berridge, Alison Berridge, Erin Berridge, nephew Dustin John, and a gazillion cousins, aunts and uncles from coast to coast. The Berridge family treasured Melissa as their bombastic brown-eyed baby girl. She had a fighting spirit and special zest from the very beginning.

Melissa graduated from O’Fallon High School (Illinois) in 1986 and earned a bachelor’s degree from Carnegie Mellon University in 1995. Over the years Melissa worked in a variety of jobs, ranging from delivering pizza for a major chain to developing financial analysis for the International Space Station project of a major defense contractor.

More recently she found her true passion for work with the Democratic Party. She hired on as a staffer for three U.S. Senate campaigns, beginning with Chellie Pingree in 2002 and Betty Castor in 2004. For the 2006 election, Melissa carefully researched which races would be seriously competitive and identified a narrow field of female Democratic candidates that she felt she could support wholeheartedly. The Claire McCaskill campaign invited her to come to Missouri, and for the past several months Missy had been plowing furiously forward as the campaign’s Compliance Director. The campaign is now boasting that she managed to achieve a stunning 99% rate of compliance in their filings with the Federal Election Commission. Her brave McCaskill compatriots dearly miss her huge grin and the wonderful bowl of chocolate that she kept in her office. They now have a silver-plated engraved Melissa Berridge memorial treat bowl to help them stay inspired as the campaign shifts into high gear.

Skydiving attracted Melissa’s attention for many years, but she did not actually jump out of a plane until a tandem dive in spring 2005 in a fundraiser for Operation Freefall, which benefited SOAR (Speaking Out About Rape) and RAINN (Rape Abuse and Incest National Network). Although that first jump inspired a lovely stream of vomit, she climbed back in the plane for a second tandem dive and returned in 2006 to jump again for Operation Freefall. After returning to St. Louis she began skydiving in earnest at Quantum Leap in Sullivan, Missouri. She bought her own altimeter in early July and had finally started solo jumps a few days before the crash.

On the day of the accident, Melissa was planning to attend the 20-year reunion of her high school class. Although she had grumbled about the price of the ticket, she was prepared to go to the reunion because in her car we later found a mapquest printout and dress clothes, yes, dress clothes. Classmates attending the reunion expressed grief and shock (not at the dress clothes) but rejoiced for her good fortune to die pursuing such a fun activity that she loved.

Melissa’s branch of the Berridge family tree is definitely not traditional and has chosen not to publish any formal obituaries. If you might have sent flowers for a traditional family, please consider making a donation to Operation Freefall in Melissa’s name. SOAR and RAINN are 501(c)3 organizations, do donations are tax-deductible.

SOAR
817-A Virginia Drive
Orlando, FL 32803
(checks should be made payable to Operation Freefall)

As a little girl, Missy had a defiant quasi-military tomboy phase when she would only wear Dingo boots, no other kind of shoe. She would have slept in those boots if mom had allowed it. Actually, it wasn’t so much a phase as a way of life. By summer 2006, she was living every day to the max and died “with her boots on” in pursuit of a sport that she adored.

Please make the most of your days, no matter what challenges you might be facing.

Blue Skies!