Melissa Mclean

Melissa S. "Missy" McLean, 48, died Wed. Oct. 25, 2006, at her home. She was born Aug. 28, 1958 in Joplin, Mo., the daughter of Fredrick K. and Sandra J. Zentner.

Missy was married in June of 1981 to Jim McLean. They had two children. Kathryn E. "Katy" McLean, 23, of Topeka, and Ian James Russell McLean, 19, of Lawrence. The couple divorced in February of 2003, but remained close until her death.

Missy was happiest when helping others. One day as a little girl in Joplin, she road her bike to a clinic for children afflicted with Cerebral Palsy and volunteered to do whatever she could to help.

Missy graduated from Memorial High School in Joplin. Then, following in the footsteps of her maternal grandmother, she became a licensed practical nurse – actually taking courses from her grandmother. She then obtained an Associate Degree in Nursing from Labette Community College in Parsons, Ks.

After working for a few years at Lawrence Memorial Hospital, Missy moved to Topeka and literally hired herself to work in the cardiac Unit at Stormont-Vail HealthCare. Believing that she had been hired after an interview, she reported to work the following week. Her supervisor, not wanting to tell her that a final decision hadn't been made, let her go to work and later remarked that it was among the best hiring decisions she never made.

For the next two decades Missy cared for critically ill heart patients, helped babies into the world first as a labor and delivery nurse and later as charge nurse of the hospital's new BirthPlace, which she helped to design. Late in her nursing career, Missy visited chronically ill patients in their homes to give whatever care and comfort she could provide. She found the job difficult, however, because she wanted to spend more time with her patients than the exacting schedule required by the job would allow. Through the care and nurturing that she gave, she formed deep and lasting relationships with hundreds of people in the Topeka community. Her legacy as a caregiver lives on through those whose lives she touched.

In addition to her chosen profession, Missy's family was her passion. She battled daily to make the world a kinder place for Katy, refusing to allow her daughter to be overlooked because of her developmental disabilities. She delighted in her son's intellect and sense of humor and in entertaining the many friends he brought to the house.

She cared for her parents and was deeply involved in the lives of her brothers, Martin, Michael and Eric, and younger sister, Ellen, and their families.

Missy's favorite place was wherever her family was gathered. But through annual vacations she came to love Cape Cod, requesting late in life that her ashes be scattered on the beach that she and her children loved to comb at low tide.

A celebration of Missy's life will be held at 11:00 a.m. Monday, Penwell-Gabel Mid-Town Chapel, 1321 S.W. 10th, Topeka. Floral arrangements are welcome, but memorial contributions to the Topeka Association for Retarded Citizens, 2701 SW Randolph, Topeka, Kansas 66609 and Valeo Behavioral Health Care, 330 SW Oakley, Topeka, Kansas 66606 are encouraged.

A special message for the family can be left online at www.PenwellGabel.com