Mirissa Ann Medeiros

FALL RIVER MEDEIROS, MIRISSA ANN, 22 of 627 Maple Street, passed away unexpectedly on Thanksgiving Day, Thursday, November 24, 2011. She was the beloved daughter of Darlene (Belmonte) Tetreault, formerly Medeiros and Steven Tetreault. Mirissa was a 2007 graduate of Durfee High School, graduating with honors. At Durfee High, she studied cosmetology and became a Licensed Massachusetts Cosmetologist the same year. She was employed by Borden Medical Associates and Sherry's Hair Obsession, both of Fall River. Mirissa was a competitive volleyball defensive specialist "Libero." She also volunteered for the American Cancer Society's Relay for Life. Mirissa passionately loved her family, beloved dog Dakota; her turtle, Sheldon (Big Boy); all of her friends and the Boston Bruins. Mirissa always put the needs of others before her own. Her compassionate, kind and gentle personality made her a cherished daughter, sister, granddaughter, niece, aunt and friend to all who were lucky enough to share in her life. She was an angel and will truly be missed by all, especially by her parents. Besides her parents, she will be deeply missed by her two brothers, Christopher Tetreault and his wife, Jamie of Leominster and Matthew Tetreault, also of Leominster; grandparents Joan Ann and Richard Hallet of East Haven, CT; Matthew Michael "Sonny" Belmonte and his partner Dorothy Cacace of North Haven, CT; Diane and Conrad Tetreault of New Bedford; Mirrisa's aunt and uncle and godparents, Cheryl (Belmonte) and Raymond Coderre of Fall River; uncle, Kenneth and Susan Tetreault of Acushnet; and aunt, Debra and Jeffrey Maccarone of Kingston, RI. Mirissa is also survived by her sweet precious niece, Sophie Rose Coderre; nephew, Landon Tetreault; great-aunts and uncles, cousins as well as many dear and cherished friends. She was the great-granddaughter of the late Ann and John O'Keefe and Rose and Constanzio Belmonte. A celebration of her life will be held on Tuesday, November 29, 2011 from 3-9 p.m. at AUCLAIR FUNERAL HOME, 690 South Main Street, Fall River. Large parking area and barrier-free entrance at the rear of funeral home. Her funeral will be held on Wednesday, November 30, 2011 from AUCLAIR FUNERAL HOME at 9 a.m. with a Mass of Christian Burial at St. Anne's Church, 750 So. Main Street, Fall River at 10 a.m. I know that there is frustration and disbelief and perhaps more than a little anger that someone like Mirissa has been taken from us so soon. What does it mean, we ask? For my son Taylor, he is haunted by the knowledge that he will no longer see her smile in a certain kind of light, nor hear her voice when he most needs to, nor be showered by a laugh he most loved in her; all he has is a photograph to remind him that we only have in this life what is ours to lose. I say to him that for all of its mystery life is inherently without meaning. We bring meaning to it. The meaning of life is whatever we ascribe it to be. Being alive is the meaning - and so, Mirissa brought meaning to her life by the way in which she lived with such a joyful and loving enthusiasm; she was an explosion of color and light as if from powder ignited and allowed to burn. There is an old Cherokee expression: "When you were born, you cried and the world rejoiced. Live your life so that when you die, the world cries and you rejoice." I wrote the following lines for a rock opera, a song sung by a character who has come home to find that his father, a kite maker, is dying and in which he contemplates the meaning of death … I've rewritten them a bit in your honor, Mirissa: "When Mirissa rises to meet her own maker Will the skies claim their tears from the ground? I have to believe what was once lost to her … Can be found When it comes time to meet my own maker Will the clouds empty, reform all round? I would like to believe we are fallen tears … On the ground" Peace and solace to her Mom and Dad … to her brothers … to her family … and to her friends. We consider it a blessing to have been afforded a small window of your time here in this place, Mirissa ... thank you and sleep well.