Melanie Spivey Sawyer, 52, passed away on April 2, 2017. She was predeceased by her husband David Edward Sawyer III, and her parents, Thelma Marie and James B. Spivey Sr.

Born in Norfolk, she was formerly of Wildwood, Mo., where she lived with the love of her life, David, until he passed in May of 2016. Upon his death, she returned to Suffolk to be surrounded by family. She was a former member of Living Word United Methodist Church in Wildwood, Mo. She was a devoted wife, and a converted Tar Heel fan, but an ECU fan at heart.

Left to cherish her memory is her brother, James B. Spivey Jr. and wife, Cherie; sister, Susan Boyce and husband, Ronald; father and mother-in-law Joyce and David E. Sawyer Jr.; two sisters-in-law, Angie Sherrill and husband, Bobby, Donna Ritter and husband, Jack; and nieces and nephews, Steven Spivey, MD, Mallori Boyce, Cameron Sherrill, MD, Ashley Ritter and Brittany Hill.

A funeral service will be conducted on Saturday, April 8, 2017, at 11 a.m. in the R.W. Baker & Co. Funeral Home and Crematory, 509 W. Washington St., Suffolk, VA 23434 by the Rev. Michael D. Halley. Burial will follow at Meadowbrook Memorial Gardens. The family will receive friends in the funeral home on Friday, April 7, 2017, from 7 to 8 p.m. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to Humane Society of Missouri, 1201 Macklind Ave., St. Louis, MO 63110. Condolences may be registered at www.RWBakerFH.com.