Melody Ann Russell, 29, of Clements, MD, passed away on July 30, 2021 in Charlotte Hall, MD. Born on April 2, 1992 in Leonardtown, MD, she was the loving daughter of John Steven Russell and Patricia Ann Russell of Clements, MD.
Melody was a lifelong St. Mary’s County resident, and graduated from St. Mary’s Ryken in 2010. She attended the University of Maryland Global Campus and graduated in 2021 with a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration. Melody worked as a baker at McKay’s in Leonardtown, MD for eight years.
She enjoyed knitting, painting, drawing, and crafting, as well as painting old furniture and restoring it. Melody liked to go thrift store shopping, collect sea glass on the beach, and play tennis.
Melody was to be married to Shawn Douglas Bailey on November 27, 2021. She met him at work at McKay’s and they fell madly in love. They were engaged after three months, and planned to remodel the house next to her parents, John and Patricia. The couple planned to have it finished for their honeymoon and live there as husband and wife. Both proud Catholics, they were religious. With their photos all over the house, Melody could not wait to marry Shawn. She loved her family; aunts, uncles, and cousins. She was very crafty, and a sweet, smart, and kind-hearted person. Melody loved the tennis team that she was on at St. Mary’s Ryken and going to David Cook concerts with Melissa Rosa, her maid of honor and best friend. Her friends Mary Depperschmidt and Claire Kayser were her bridesmaids-to-be; they were like the sisters she never had. Shawn and Melody were planning a beautiful life together. Now two lives cut short are together in Heaven forever, both young and in love.
The family will receive friends on Friday, August 13, 2021 from 9:00 AM to 10:30 AM in the Mattingley-Gardiner Funeral Home, Leonardtown, MD. A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at 11:00 AM in St. Joseph’s Catholic Church, Morganza, MD, with Father Drew Royals officiating, accompanied by Deacon Joe Lloyd. Interment will follow at Queen of Peace Cemetery, Helen, MD. Serving as pallbearers will be Jamieson Russell, Daniel Russell, Alan Harper, Ethan Gott, Samuel Walter, and Clint Walter. Honorary pallbearers will be Dorothy Gott, Sandy Reisinger, Joseph Lloyd, and Francis H. Walter.
Contributions may be made to St. Joseph’s Catholic Church, P.O. Box 175, Morganza, MD 20660 and St. Mary’s Ryken Girls Tennis Team, 22600 Camp Calvert Road, Leonardtown, MD 20650.
Condolences may be made to the family at www.mgfh.com. Arrangements provided by the Mattingley-Gardiner Funeral Home, P.A. & Crematory, Leonardtown, MD.
