Melissa Marie Duede

Daughter of Mark and Beth Swanson Duede, Granddaughter of Edgar P. and Irene Warner Swanson, and Otto and Hazel Dammann Duede. My family has many women that have been very important to me especially my mother Beth and my younger sister Laura Renee, my two grandmothers Irene and Hazel and Aunts Kay Lynn Florence and Joan and all those cousins.

Because of the support and encouragement of these wonderful women and girls I have been able to do a great deal in only nineteen years of life. I have been a Girl Scout for twelve years from Brownies to a college group and have earned the Gold Award. My mother was an inspired troop leader all of those years and Dad took the various troops on well-planned camping trips. I have been able to travel a great deal both in and out of the United States because of opportunities given to me in Girl Scouting. This has been a very exciting part of my life. Right now I am a junior at the University of California at Davis majoring in biology. I can't decide what career I want my degree to lead to just yet. The lives of all the women who have come before me have always been an inspiration to me and will continue to be. ------

 Dear Melissa, So proud of my grandchildren--pleased to have your name in the Plaza! You were our first grandchild born February 1 1976 and we were so excited! You've continued to keep us interested with your wide assortment of skills and abilities I'm going to quote from Claudia R. Keithley your high school English teacher.

 'Melissa is not only an outstanding student she is an outstanding person. While maintaining a high academic record she has involved herself in community volunteer work and extra-curricular activities at school. She is an active hiker and backpacker so she has the skills and stamina to cope with a variety of living situations. She has worked with small children as a child care assistant at her church and has worked extensively with animals through volunteer efforts at the local Humane Society. She is a self-starter and doesn't need to be prompted to get things done. She would be a leader in seeing that others follow through. As a group leader in class she always made sure that her group finished their assigned tasks in a timely appropriate manner. Melissa gets along well with others peers and adults alike and would have no trouble adapting herself to a variety of situations. I have never heard her complain that a job was too difficult or too challenging."

 You're the only person I know that makes pieced quilts as "thank you" presents! We all cherish the small family quilt that hangs in my bedroom--it's complete with actual photographs transferred to the material. You finished sewing it all together one night before you flew home. It has pictures of all of our families: the Seydels Craigs Duedes and Swansons.

The "half-dozen cousins" Suzy Kathy Roxanne David Laura and you all have a special block. Now at Davis--field hockey Habitat house painting and your latest venture starting today--preparing the evening meal in two hours for a fraternity! Tomorrow I'm mailing you ISU's Lenore Sullivan's complete institutional recipe file. Use it wisely but don't forget to go to class. -Love gma Swanson

7/1/96

Brick also located at: H27

Paver Inscription:

Irene Warner Swanson 1913-2006
Kay Swanson Craig 1947
Suzanne Kathryn Craig 1976
Kathryn Lynn Craig 1979
Lynn Swanson Seydel 1944
Roxanne Elizabeth Seydel 1979
Beth Swanson Duede 1948
Melissa Marie Duede 1976
Laura Renee Duede 1984
Beth Carolyn Warner 1888-1960
Eunice Decker Warner 1856-1942
Estella Irene Martin 1853-1940