Melissa A. Gatt, 57, of Noblesville, Indiana, formerly of Wabash, Indiana, died at 1:30 am, Sunday, February 18, 2024, at I.U. Health University Hospital in Indianapolis, Indiana. She was born on August 27, 1966, in Wabash, to Paul V. and Karen Elaine (Cooley) Conley.
Melissa was a 1984 graduate of Wabash High School, and a member of the Southside Free Will Baptist Church. She moved to Noblesville to live with her sister and brother-in-law after the passing of their mother in September 2020. Melissa had significant health issues her entire adult life that included a multi-organ transplant surgery in July 2022. She did amazing immediately after the surgery, but soon went into rejection and faced numerous setbacks which she was eventually unable to overcome.
When Melissa was healthy, she was the most wonderful caretaker of others such as during her mother’s illness, whenever her kids or grandchildren were sick, and after her sister’s knee replacement surgery.
Melissa absolutely adored her two grandchildren whom lovingly called her ‘Doedoe,’ and loved spending as much time with them as she could. She also loved cooking for others and had a special knack for homemade spaghetti sauce and chicken and noodles. She also loved to garden and read, was a big fan of the Bob and Tom Show and was a connoisseur of the Andy Griffith Show.
She is survived by her two children, Caitlin (Tyler Runyan) Meade of Fort Wayne, Indiana, and Derrick Gatt of Kokomo, Indiana; two grandchildren, Hadley Meade and Paxton Runyan, both of Fort Wayne; sister, Teresa (Alfred IV) Plummer of Noblesville; and her niece and nephew, Alexandra Plummer of Madison, Wisconsin, and Ryan Plummer of Indianapolis. She was preceded in death by her parents.
A memorial service will be held at 2:00 pm, Sunday, February 25, 2024, at the Southside Free Will Baptist Church, 360 Columbus Street, Wabash, with Rev. Tim Webb officiating. There will be a visitation for family and friends from 12:30 pm – 2:00 pm Sunday, at the church. Arrangements by Grandstaff-Hentgen Funeral Service, 1241 Manchester Avenue, Wabash.
If preferred, donations to the Riley Children’s Foundation can be made in lieu of flowers as Melissa experienced first hand the stress and strain of long term illness on families.
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