Words by Reagan Young | Images by Justin Hunter
“You can bring the cornbread, but remember to put no sugar in it,” said Mrs. D to her sixth graders.
Why were students bringing cornbread to school? And why leave out arguably the best part—the sugar?
Both questions find their answer in Melissa DeAngelo.
Known affectionately to generations of students as “Mrs. D,” she brought excitement and creativity to the classroom for 43 years.
From making “hobo stew” with sugarless cornbread to teach about the Great Depression era when many families faced extreme poverty and had to cook with limited, inexpensive ingredients, to orchestrating a time capsule project, her light-hearted humor and passion for teaching kept students engaged, curious, and always wondering what she had up her sleeve for the next lesson.
“I did all kinds of things. It wasn’t just sitting in a book,” says Mrs. D. “I wanted it to be fun and not boring.”
Born and raised in Meridian, Mississippi, Mrs. D knew from a young age she wanted to be a teacher, just like her mom. She’d line up her dolls and pretend to lead a classroom.
“They were just little dolls I had at home, and I would line them up and I taught them,” laughs Mrs. D. “My sister went, ‘You’re crazy,’ and I said, ‘Probably, but I’m gonna be a teacher.’ And I did, and I loved it.”
After graduating from Meridian High School in 1969, she enrolled at Mississippi State University to pursue a degree in education. During her junior year, she met Mark, an MSU student who had returned to school after serving in the military. The two married in the spring of 1972, and Melissa took his last name, thus becoming Mrs. DeAngelo.
After graduating in 1973, Mrs. D launched her teaching career in Pascagoula, Mississippi, stepping into her first classroom of “cute second graders” at Gautier Elementary School. She later earned her master’s degree while teaching in Pascagoula and then spent a year teaching in Philadelphia, Mississippi. In 1977, she and Mark moved to Jasper, Alabama.
One position was available at Jasper Middle School, and Mrs. D didn’t hesitate. That fall, she began teaching English, math, and science. Almost every year, she gave up her summer break to teach summer school, which she called “the most fun.”
“They would ask me, ‘You reckon we could go to summer school all the time and not go during the year?’” she recalls. “I said, ‘Well, you’re going to have to go talk to the superintendent.’”
She had a gift for turning everyday lessons into memorable experiences. One day, her typically tidy classroom, lined with composition notebooks and pencils, looked like a late ’80s superstore as students brought in items for a time capsule. Menus, yo-yos, baseballs, a Daily Mountain Eagle newspaper, comic books, and pick-up sticks littered the floor.
“One of them wanted to put his glasses in,” says Mrs. D. “And I said, ‘No, you can’t put your glasses in. No, you’re going to need those.’”
Mrs. D embraced change, including learning how to use a computer, to support her students’ academic and personal growth. She arrived early, stayed late, and took everything in stride.
“I just took it day by day. If we didn’t finish one day, we would start it up again the next day,” she says. “I was just enjoying it. I had as much fun as they did!”
In 2014, Mrs. D retired after more than four decades in education. Former students called her, laughing, “You were supposed to teach my kids! How could you retire now?”
These days, Mrs. D enjoys Mississippi State football games and travels across the country to support her husband in skeet competitions. She still runs into former students, who instinctively greet her as “Mrs. D.”
“I say, ‘Please call me Melissa, I mean my gosh,’” she laughs.
But for so many students, that name will always stick. She’ll forever be “Mrs. D”—the devoted, passionate, and endlessly creative teacher who made learning unforgettable. WL
