Melissa Ann Arevalos Perez, 34, of Lompoc, CA, went to be with our Lord on December 8, 2020.  She was a loving and charismatic individual, and her absence will be greatly missed by many.

Visitation will be held between the hours of 4-8 pm on December 16, 2020, at Starbuck-Lind Mortuary.

The memorial service will be held at 1 pm on December 18, 2020, at Lompoc Foursquare Church. Paster Bernie of LFC will be officiating. The service will be live-streamed to the church's website, MyLFC.com .  Choose WATCH ONLINE to find Melissa's service.  If you attend the service you may remain in your car and listen on the radio at 105.5 FM.  Attendees must wear masks and maintain distancing protocols.

Melissa Ann Arevalos Perez was born on August 26, 1986, to Angelo Jr. and Rae Ann Arevalos.  She married the love of her Life Jose Luis Perez Jr. on August 2 ^nd , 2008, and from that union, their children, Raelina Perez, D'Angelo Luis Perez, Aliayah Perez, and Jesse Perez.

She is lovingly remembered by her sister Katie Vega, grandparents, Angelo, and Candelaria Arevalos; aunts and uncles, Larry and Linda Justice, Willie and Margie Justice, Maxine Terrones and Danny Holmes, Chris and Rachel Depuy, Saul and Karen Dominguez, Tony and Sue Olivas, Robert and Sandy Arevalos, and Dave and Anna Hernandez; godparents, Ernie Bermudez and Gloria Grijalva; father-in-law Jose Luis Perez Sr., sister -in law Jacqulina and her husband Alfredo Uribe, brother-in-law Crisantos and his wife Cristina Perez, sister-in-law Selena and her husband Hector Torrico and numerous cousins, nieces, nephews, and great uncles and aunts.

Melissa is preceded in death by her brother, Angelo Arevalos "Junie" II, grandparents, Larry and Rachel Justice, and mother-in-law, Rosalina Perez.

Melissa attended the local schools here in Lompoc, beginning her education at La Purisima Catholic Elementary School, continuing through Lompoc Senior High School, where she lettered in all four years playing Varsity Soccer, ran Cross Country, graduated in 2004 and culminating at Allan Hancock College, where she continued to play soccer, and where she met Jose.

Melissa loved to play soccer, and with the family she had, there was no escape. She became involved with AYSO at the age of 8 and continued throughout her adult life. She became a board member in 2018-2019. Raelina, their daughter, begin to follow in both their footsteps and Melissa was her biggest cheerleader. She was as energetic as if she were on the field herself, encouraging her daughter and the team during games.

The love Melissa had for her children never waned.  If she had to choose between loving her children and breathing, she would use her last breath to tell them how much she loved them.

That is the love and devotion Melissa carried with her. She wore her heart on her sleeve and everyone that knew her knew that dazzle was special.

Melissa had many mesmeric qualities and one that comes to heed is the love she had for our Lord and the love she had for her Arevalos, Justice, and Perez family.  She loved to throw parties for any occasion and being engulfed with her family were her happiest of times. Every year Melissa would plan an event for her brother, "Junie" on his birthday.

Melissa believed there was a misconception that holding on to loved ones kept you stuck. She always believed that continuing relationships with loved ones after they have passed and learning to celebrate birthdays was important. Melissa believed it was important to celebrate her brother's birthday, for however many years he spent on earth, that day was set aside as a day for her and her family to honor and celebrate him.

Melissa was determined to make every event a celebration and every day an adventure.

If someone in the family got engaged, she would throw a party. Someone in the family bought a new home, she would celebrate.  Her family's success where Melissa's success.

One was never excluded from her path.  Wine and margaritas would flow, and laughter would abound.

If the sun were out, you would find Melissa rounding up her family and head for the lake, dragging their boat along. How she enjoyed those moments of gatherings along the campfire, playing games and basking in the presence of her loved ones.

Other times, you would catch Melissa and Jose rounding up the kids and her parents and head to Disneyland. They loved all things Disney and were Annual Passholders. It was not uncommon for them to visit Disneyland several times a year, especially during Halloween or Christmas.  Melissa and Jose both wanted to share their love for Disney with their children and she would be giddy as a child when they would be able to buy coveted tickets for "Halloween Night." They would bask in the glow of seeing Disney decorated during Christmas time, and she wanted everyone to experience the love she had for Disneyland, through her videos.

Once a year, Melisa was able to have a bonus trip to Disneyland, by attending the annual dental convention.  She worked for Dr. David Carey for almost 13 years and began her career with him in July of 2008.

Melissa's professional title was Office Manager, but she carried several titles and belonged to three organizations.  She belonged to the American Association of Dental Office Managers (AADOM) since 2012, American Dental Assistants Association since 2010, and she was a licensed radiologist in dentistry through the state of California.

In her profession, Melissa was known for many things, per passion for the field, her positive attitude, and her reliability.  With the ability to make all the patients smile, and a propensity to simultaneously emit her signature laugh, Melissa was an uplifting presence at Dr. David Carey's office.  When someone was down, she always could cheer them up.  On the day of her passing word spread quickly through our small town and patients were calling in with heartache. A phone call to our office by a patient discussed her positive demeanor.  "She was a phenomenal person who constantly brought smiles to her patients and everyone else she encouraged throughout the day". Others stated that she will be deeply missed by all who had the pleasure of knowing her. And whenever anyone needed help with a task or someone to listen, Melissa's colleagues knew they could count on her, no matter what she was going through.  If you asked her to do something, she would do it.

Another thing Melissa was known for by her colleagues, family, friends, and patients, was her love for make-up and her glamour nails. It was customary for the patients to ask to see Melissa's nails and ask questions regarding her make-up and style. Recently Melissa started a Vlog about hair and make-up, and she was so excited to add another feather to her cap of accomplishments.

She developed close bonds with many patients and one patient in particular caught Melissa's attention. This patient was a foster parent and Melissa embarked on a journey with Pathway family Services in 2016.

Melissa treated each child as if they were their own. Melissa would explain to each child that at her home, they were a family, and they would do things together.  Melissa would always say that the only thing that these kids wanted was someone to love them, and she did.  As it turns out, a few of the kids that have been fostered by Melissa would come over to spend time with her and her family.  Melissa would say that when she would hear about the things that many of these kids have gone through, her heart was large enough for all of them.

She was the nucleus of her family and her sudden departure will leave an ache in our hearts forever.

Melissa has slipped the surly bonds of Earth, to touch the face of God and to make Him laugh, for we all knew Melissa had such an animated personality. She could make anyone laugh! Her laughter was infectious, and her sense of humor was magical.  One could not help but be drawn to her radiance, for her light was a beacon to those that needed to be loved that were left in the dark.

She leaves a huge emptiness in the hearts of all of us who loved her, many who were her friends, and even more who just had a glimmer of her through her family.

How can one capture the life of a person on a single page? Or even two… for some of us she was chapters and to others, she was the whole book.

Rest in peace dearest one, your beloved brother, grandmother, grandfather, and mother-in-law are welcoming you with open arms as the Angels sing Amazing Grace.