Melissa Dwana (Wilson) Dearing

It is with great sadness, in our hearts, that we announce the passing of our beloved mother, Melissa “Dee” Dwana Wilson-Dearing, whom left us incredibly too soon at the tender age of 51. Dee was born in New Orleans, Louisiana on February 11, 1973, to Beverly and Freddie Wilson; she was the youngest of their five children. Dee and her family moved around quite often to various places in the south, due to her parents' jobs in the hotel industry. That meant she never stayed in one place too long, but that was okay, as she had a large family that surrounded her.

Dee graduated from Berry High School in Hoover, Alabama, and shortly afterwards, moved to Pensacola Beach, Florida. She worked at restaurant jobs and gift shops, until she met her future husband, Andrew. They relocated to Panama City Beach, Florida, to be closer to her parents and Dee became pregnant shortly there after.

Welcoming her first child into the world in 1996, Dee continued to grow her family until 2000. For the next few years, she and her family remained on the beaches of Panama City until deciding to move to a little town forty-five minutes away; Freeport, Florida. The town was small, but she felt it was a good place to raise her children.

Dee received her cosmetology license to do nails in 2004 and opened her own salon in Freeport. She ran things alone for two years before deciding that the town wasn’t quite ready for a salon yet. She closed shop and began working at a spa in Seaside, quickly becoming manager and overseeing operations, until the spa closed its doors in 2011. Upon leaving, she decided on a job closer to home, working at a produce market in town. That job would ultimately lead her to an opportunity of a lifetime, to travel around the country to see the states. However, she was only able to explore half of the country before jetting home to be there for the early arrival of her first grandchild.

She and her grandson, Richard, had a special bond; Dee was a very active nanny and was always doing something with him. She was always doing crafts and activities with her children growing up, and, even more so, after she became a grandmother later in life. One of her biggest accomplishments in life was being a wonderful mother and grandmother. She welcomed two more grandchildren into the world several years after Richard and, although two of her children and a grandchild were far away, she still tried to be there through calls and gifts. 

Dee was always an explorer, even at a young age; finding peace in being alone and searching for her next adventure. That demeanor lead her to Alaska in the spring of 2022, working on a world-renowned dog sledding ranch in Seward, Alaska. There she would spend the next six months working and loving every moment of it. She loved Alaska, the weather and the scenery; everything about it was perfect. However; there was something about the beach that held a special place in Dee’s heart. The warm sun on her skin and white sand between her toes, from watching countless sunsets on the beach to hooking up a hammock underneath a pier, she loved every part of being at the beach. It was truly her happy place. Dee had a way of making you feel so loved; she was always there when you needed her, and if she couldn't be there physically, she was only a call away. She put thought into the things she gave people, inspired people to leave things better than they found it, and sought to teach her children and grandchildren that it really is "the little things in life that matter the most". She will be incredibly missed by her family, friends and all that knew her.

She is preceded in death by her siblings, Bubba Wilson, Tori Wilson, and Joseph Wilson.

She is survived by her parents, Beverly and Freddie Wilson; her sister, Traci Bergeron; her three children, Andrew Dearing, Jr., Farrah Dearing, and Dallas Dearing; and her three grandchildren, Richard, Nadia, and Parker.