Dale Leavesley Melada

Dale Leavesley Melada, 91, beloved wife, mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, and lifelong educator passed away April 28, 2025. Born January 5th, 1934 in Philadelphia, PA, Dale attended West Chester State Teacher's College in Pennsylvania, and taught in Pennsylvania and California before coming to Albuquerque in 1966 with her husband, Ivan. Dale devoted 43 years to elementary education. She received her EdD from UNM in 1979 and worked as a reading teacher and principal at Governor Bent, Arroyo Del Oso, Edmund G. Ross, Alameda, Oñate Elementary and Bellehaven Elementary Schools before retiring. She is preceded in death by her husband of 69 years, Ivan Melada Sr., and survived by her brother, Robert Leavesley (Seattle, WA), son Peter Melada and wife Eliot (Albuquerque, NM), daughter Julia Astifan and husband Carl (Centennial, CO), son Sam Melada (Albuquerque, NM), grandchildren Emily, Meredith, Joe and Oliver, and great grandchildren Jaden and Nolan. She will be remembered as "Mrs Melada" by hundreds if not thousands of children who attended Albuquerque Public Schools from the 1960s to the 1990s.