Melissa Ann “Mel” Higbee, 40, of Jackson, passed away on Saturday, December 10, 2016 at Henry Ford Allegiance Hospice Home in Jackson surrounded by her family.
A funeral service will be held at 11:00 AM, Wednesday, December 14, 2016 at Dutcher Funeral Home in Coldwater with Rev. Don Harkey officiating. Interment will follow at California Corners Cemetery in California Township. Visitation will take place on Tuesday, December 13, 2016 from 2:00 – 4:00 and 6:00 – 8:00 PM at Dutcher Funeral Home in Coldwater.
Mel was born September 20, 1976 to Kenneth F. Wattier and Susan (Brown) Keller in Provo, Utah. She married Gary Higbee on August 23, 1996 in Cambria.
After graduating from Reading High School, Mel attended and graduated from Wayne State University with her Bachelor’s and Master’s Degrees in Social Work. She became the Director of Palliative Care at V. A. Medical Center in Ann Arbor, retiring in 2011.
Mel enjoyed reading and being a volunteer with Henry Ford Allegiance Hospice Home. She will be remembered as a caregiver to everyone.
She is survived by her husband Gary Higbee of Jackson, her children; Karissa Higbee and Austin Higbee both of Jackson, her mother; Sue (Steve) Keller of Homer, her father: Kenneth Wattier of Lake George, Utah, her brother; William (Susan) Wattier of Ashburn, Virginia, her sisters; Lynette (Jeff) Clark of Camden and Lei (Greg) Gunthorp of LaGrange, Indiana, her maternal grandmother; Elsie Brown of Angola, Indiana, her maternal step-grandmother; Judy Brown of Coldwater, her paternal grandmother; Kitty (George) Rowley of St. George, Utah. She is also survived by 13 nieces and nephews. Mel is preceded in death by her maternal grandfather, Billy C. Brown and her paternal grandfather, William Wattier.
Memorials may be directed to Henry Ford Allegiance Hospice Home in Jackson.