Melissa "Missy" Brazfield Fernandez

Melissa "Missy" Brazfield Fernandez, 56, of Rio Rancho, New Mexico, passed away peacefully at home on June 16, 2026, after a courageous fifteen-month battle with renal medullary carcinoma. Missy was born in the Bronx, NY but called Charlotte, NC her home. She graduated from Pennsbury High School in Yardley, PA, then completed her bachelor's degree in Cultural Anthropology from Appalachian State University in Boone, NC. After college, she moved out west to New Mexico where she met Jeromy. They moved to Anchorage, AK for eight years where they started a family with Lena's birth in 2001. In 2003, she moved back down to New Mexico where Aidan was born in 2005. 

Missy dedicated her life to the education and support of vulnerable populations in the behavioral health, adult education, and public education fields. She was especially passionate about working with at-risk youth and children with pervasive developmental delays. She was enthusiastically pro-union, serving as a Rio Rancho Public Schools Employees Union board member for many years. Missy was a long-time employee of Rio Rancho Public Schools, working at Cielo Azul Elementary for over a decade.

Missy was exceptionally compassionate, which led her to many worthy causes, from LGBTQ+ rights to environmental preservation to reparations for black and indigenous peoples, to name just a few. She had a great deal of fire in her heart, and worked relentlessly to make the world a better and safer place for the most vulnerable of us. Her kindness touched everyone she knew. She loved to laugh, to watch silly television and movies, to read, to rearrange the dishwasher because no one else knew how to load it right, and more than anything, she loved to envelop people in her warmth. She was capable of connecting with anyone and everyone, and took great joy in building friendships and relationships.

She is survived by her husband of 28 years, Jeromy Brazfield, daughter Carolena Fernandez Brazfield and son Aidan Brazfield, father Peter Fernandez, brother Christopher Fernandez; aunt Carmen Quesada and husband Ray Virella, aunt Felicia Fernandez, and uncle Manny Del Toro, mother-in-law Barbara Morris, aunt-in-law Starr Caswell, brothers-in-law Michael Brazfield, Heath Brazfield, and Joseph Brazfield, as well as their partners Amy Lewis, Cathy White, and Michelle Brazfield, many cousins, nieces and nephews, grandniece and grandnephews, and an honorary nephew. 

She was preceded in death by her mother Enedina Lourdes Fernandez, aunt Mickey Del Toro and grandniece Andromeda Brazfield.

A Celebration of Life for Missy will be held on Saturday, June 28th, from 3pm-6pm, with eulogy and story-sharing starting at 4:30pm, at 522 E. Alameda in Santa Fe, New Mexico. In lieu of flowers, please consider supporting the vital work being done by the Chris Johnson Foundation, who work to increase awareness of RMC, advocate for continued research for more effective treatment, and support individuals and families battling this rare and aggressive cancer. Their work ensured Missy never felt alone in her battle, which was invaluable until the very end. https://chrisjohnsonfoundation.org/