My name is Melissa Spell and I would like to share a little bit of information with you about my life, and why I'm working with Henson-Novak Funeral Homes.
I am a lifelong resident of Boise City, Oklahoma, where I received my education in K-12 at Boise City Public School District, along with graduating there in 1988.
Next, I went to college at Panhandle State University in Goodwell, Oklahoma where I earned my degree of Bachelor of Science in Elementary Education in 1997, with only a few credit hours short of having a double major.
Then, I started my teaching career in Keyes, Oklahoma, and am currently teaching in my hometown of Boise City with 23 years of teaching experience, and still going strong!
God blessed me with two amazing children, Justin and Destiny Spell, a wonderful son-in-law, Matthew Kell who is married to my daughter, and two awesome grandchildren Ely & Kynlee Spell. I am very fortunate because they all live in Boise City as well, and all of them are my heart and soul!
Now, I would like to share with you a short version of my testimony of why I am working with Hensen-Novak Funeral Homes...
I have always been a Daddy's Girl, and my heart stopped beating the day he passed away. My son called me early on the morning of May 1, 2019 asking me if I would check on grandpa. He said Grandpa Pat is alongside the highway on 287 South of Boise City and outside of Kerrick, OK, and I think he might be having heart issues. My heart sank like it had never sunk before! So my grandson and I flew down 287 in my car looking for him. I kept having memories of him racing through my head of when he was having his first heart attack in 1987. As we got closer, about fifteen miles south of Boise City, which seemed like forever, I finally seen him. As we got closer I felt like he had already passed away because I couldn't feel his presence, which was such a weird feeling. So, I told Ely, my grandson, to keep playing his computer game, and do not get out of the car, on this busy highway, no matter what. I was instantly in shock as I walked across the highway to check on my dad. I started calling his name and hitting on the window of the pickup. I couldn't get the door unlocked so I looked in the back of his pickup and found a huge wrench. I grabbed it and rushed to the passenger side and hit, and hit on the side window because I didn't want the broken glass to hurt him. I couldn't break it, so I called my son crying and crying, while trying to be calm! He told me he would call the ambulance and there is a spare set of keys in the gas tank. I had always known that, but at the moment I couldn't think straight, everything was blurry, and I just wanted to save my dad. As soon as I opened the door, I kept crying and holding his hand, while I was standing on the white line of the highway. I would occasionally look over at my grandson to make sure he was still in the car. It seemed like forever until the ambulance finally got there, but they did. Our local sheriff arrived on the scene first. He put the pickup in gear, and pulled my dad out of the pickup in the lane of traffic, and pulled him behind the pickup. He immediately started performing CPR on him. I remember telling him I think he's already gone. However. I kneeled down beside my dad, holding his hand, while Officer Mike was performing CPR on him until the ambulance finally arrived. I didn't notice my dad's foot was on the brake the whole time, and realize that Officer Mike put the pickup in park, and turned the key off, which meant that he barely pulled over in time before he had a massive heart attack. and passed away.
Now, I never told anyone this next part of it until about a year after dad passed away. Then, one day I felt like I should share this with my mom first, so I did. As I was standing on the white line of the highway holding my dad's hand and crying, all of a sudden I turned facing the traffic and seen a semi coming right towards us, and not moving over, at a high rate of speed! I kept thinking I needed to move because he was going to hit us, but I couldn't because it felt like my feet were stuck in concrete, and I just couldn't leave him. So, I looked over at my grandson who was still sitting in my car, and he was still in the car, and I thought to myself that I cannot leave my dad, even though I know he's already gone , but I didn't want his body hurt, but what about Ely. So, I looked inside the windshield of the truck at the driver and thought to myself, you are going to have to hit me too because I cannot leave him. It was important to me that his body didn't get hurt, even though I knew he was already in Heaven with God. His body was still a part of him. As soon as I thought that, the truck all of a sudden swerved, and to the point it swayed a lot, but he made it around us. Then shortly after that is when I realized that I always knew I loved my dad with all of my heart and would die for him. However, I never knew I would die to protect his deceased body.
I know this must sound crazy, but I truly believe everything happens for a reason, and God had plans for all of us. Next, was when the sheriff showed up and then the ambulance took him back to the ER at the hospital, and he was pronounced dead, and I met our Funeral Director, Kelly Miller.
Kelly had told us that he had lost his brother just a few months ago in January when we met him at the funeral home to make arrangements.
And, to finally make this long story short, in which I didn't, and apologize, but I feel like God put me in this business for a reason...To help myself heal while helping other people heal while going through a tragedy of the loss of a loved one. I have been sharing my story ever since, and treating their loved one who has passed with the utmost respect, because someone loved that person enough to die for them, and unfortunately I know that pain! I never ever in a million years would have put myself working in a funeral home, until this happened! There is no doubt in my mind that God put me here for a reason.
