Melanie Timpa Obituary

Melanie Gay (Southwell) Timpa, 74, of Dawson, passed away at her residence on Monday, August 4, 2025. Funeral services will be 2:00 pm Friday, August 8 at Wade Funeral Chapel in Hubbard with Pastor Jarrett Daugherty officiating. Interment will follow in Dawson Cemetery. The family will receive friends from 6:00 - 8:00 p.m. Thursday, August 7 at the funeral home. Melanie was born January 31, 1951 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma to Willie James Southwell and Barbara Shelton Southwell. She was later joined by a sister, Glenda and a brother, David. The family lived in Oklahoma City until 1961 when they moved to El Paso where her father joined the El Paso Police Department leaving the Oklahoma City Police Department. Her father died in 1967 and in 1969, the family moved to Irving to be closer to family. At that time, Melanie went to live with her paternal grandmother and graduated from Wynnewood High School in Wynnewood, Oklahoma. She attended Oklahoma State College in Ada, Oklahoma for one year and then Kilgore State for another year. Melanie married Benny Timpa and they had one daughter, Amy Jo. Benny passed away several years ago. Following her brother and sister, Melanie moved to Dawson in 2011. She joined the First Assembly of God Church in Dawson and barring illness, she never missed a meeting or a service. Melanie was preceded in death by her grandparents, her father and husband. She is survived by her mother, Barbara Lee of Dawson; daughter, Amy Jo Timpa; sister, Glenda Perez and husband, Jose of Dawson; her brother, David Southwell of Dawson; two beloved nieces, Debra and Callie and several cousins. Since Melanie loved all four-legged critters, in lieu of flowers, donations to any animal shelter would put a smile on her face.