Melissa Stanfield Lehmkuhl passed away peacefully with her husband, Kevin, by her side, on Saturday, March 23, 2024 at 4:15am.  Melissa was a long-time resident of Spencerville.

Melissa lived by the adage; "Your time on earth is limited. Don't try to 'age with grace', age with mischief, audacity, and a good story to tell".

Melissa was a loving proud mother to Madison Zizelman and Devin Chappell. She took great pride in being a grandmother to her beloved grandchildren, Bentley, Breckley, Harlyn and step grandchildren Lucas and Eli. Melissa enjoyed a particularly special relationship with Bentley who came into her life like a burst of sunshine on March 1, 2020.

Some people make the world a better place by sharing their humor, love, spirit, laughter – Melissa was one of these people. She had a deep well of love for her family which was expressed In the delicious meals she often prepared for special occasions or no special occasion at all.

Another channel of her spirit was many weekends spent at Kozy Campground, her "happy place", where she developed strong ties with many families who shared her passion for mischief and creating great memories. She enjoyed a lifelong kinship with many of her classmates from Spencerville high school, who surely can find comfort in many of the great stories that they can continue to tell.

Melissa proudly earned her Bachelor Degree in Social Work from Bluffton University in May 2018 and went on to enjoy a career as a chemical dependency counselor, she made a positive impact on many of the clients she served.

Melissa was a bright light to so many and will be greatly missed.

She was born on December 29, 1970 to William A (Bill) Stanfield and Linda K Morrison, who survive. On July 13, 2014 Melissa married Kevin T Lehmkuhl, who survives. Melissa is  survived by children Devin Chappell (Angela Holt) of Celina, Madison Zizelman (Michael Kenny) of Spencerville, step children, Kathryn (Katie) Brown (Michael Hall) of Kettering, Thomas (Tommy) Lehmkuhl (Kaitlyn) of Austin, Texas, Emily Lehmkuhl of Columbus, Nicholas (Nick) Lehmkuhl of Chicago, Illinois, and Jessica Lehmkuhl of Sylvania, siblings, Stephen (Steve) Stanfield of Lima, Liz Bacome (Thomas) of Spencerville, and Thomas (TJ) Stanfield of Spencerville. mother-in-law, Rose Ann Lehmkuhl of Centerville, siblings-in-law, Todd Lehmkuhl (Margie) of Springboro, Carrie Thomas (Greg) of Cincinnati, Brian Lehmkuhl (Janet) of Hebron, Kentucky, and Jason Lehmkuhl (Erica) of Waialua, Hawaii.

She was a proud aunt to Alex, Tony, Ella, Ashley B, Chelsea, Taylor, Erika, Scott, Mitchell, Joey, Lucas, Dani, Troy, and her partner in crime, Ashley Musser.

She was preceded in death by her father- in- law, Thomas Lehmkuhl.

A special thank you to Mercy Health Hospice of Lima, who provided loving care to Melissa and comfort to the family. In lieu of flowers, please make donations to Lima's Samaritan house.

Visitation will be held at Faith Christian Church (2223 Shawnee Rd., Lima, OH 45805) on Saturday, April 6, 2024 from 10:00am to 1:00pm with a celebration of life service immediately following with Pastor Terri Haithcock officiating. Memories may be shared and viewed by visiting www.baylifffuneral.com. Thomas E. Bayliff Funeral Home in Spencerville is caring for Melissa and her family.