Melanie Tenielle Morris

The world lost a rare and beautiful soul on January 12, 2026, when Melanie Morris left us at the age of 49. Born September 23, 1976, Melanie was a force of nature, a woman who grew beauty wherever she went, and who found meaning in the wild, the gentle, and the everyday.
A proud graduate of Fort Osage High School (Class of 1993), Melanie spent her days surrounded by green. An avid plant lover, she filled her space with vibrant life, tending to an array of houseplants, nurturing new life, and gifting clippings to friends and often family. Her love of plants was only matched by her collection of Coca-Cola Classic bottles, sometimes emblazoned with a name, shared as a token of connection. Melanie prized the fizz and nostalgia, and could light up a room with a story about her latest find. Melanie was a daughter, a sister, a mother, a mimi, a friend. She worked tirelessly at Price Chopper in the dairy department, known for her reliability and her easy smile. Before that, she served as a Certified Nursing Assistant, giving comfort and care to those in nursing homes, always putting others first, with a gentle touch and a fierce sense of dignity for those she helped. She was her father’s tomboy, her brother Justin’s fishing buddy, and her childhood best friend Shawntay’s confidante and namesake inspiration for her youngest daughter. She found magic in ordinary pleasures, her mother’s homemade fudge, the wild spirit of tigers she embraced as her own, and simple afternoons spent in the sun. Tigers were her spirit animal, and just like them she moved through life with strength, independence, and a playful wildness that never dimmed. To her grandchildren, Romeo, Grayson, Geneva, Adrian, Azai, and Avani, she was “Mimi,” a source of stories, laughter, and unconditional love. Melanie is survived by her loving mother, Katherine Coonce Stewart (Arthur); stepmother Cindy Hough; siblings Melissa Nichols, Michelle Ryan, Christina Bryant, Tina Gilkey, Justin Heckadon, Kathy Hough, and Josh Nichols; and her children Geovondie Hough (Amanda), Jasmine Morris (Mahlon), and Journee Morris (Brendan). She will be dearly missed by all who were lucky enough to know her fierce loyalty "unless you are my Dad (and none of you are) shut your face about me talking fast" and generous soul.She is preceded in death by her father, David Ray Hough; her grandparents Lewis (Sammy) & Thelma Hough, James Coonce, Della Glaze, Jesse & Virginia Baker, and Estella Womack; her brother, Eric Killion, and cousin Adam Seth Coonce.To those who knew Melanie, she was a patchwork of laughter, stubbornness, generosity, and love, the sort of woman who made the world a little brighter and a lot more interesting. May her memory take root and blossom, wild and beautiful, in the hearts of all she leaves behind."

A Celebration of Life visitation will be held on Sunday, January 18, 2026, at 2pm at Heuser Funeral Home in Rich Hill, Missouri, with private burial to follow at Click Cemetery, 1576 South Click Street, Nevada, Missouri, 64772.