Obituary of Melissa Ruth Wender
Melissa Ruth Wender was born in Fall River, Massachusetts on July 29th,1954. She was the daughter of Arthur and Ada Wender. Most of her childhood was spent in Long Meadow, Massachusetts. Her father was in the children’s garment industry. He held a Masters Degree in Industrial Engineering from MIT. His career influenced Missy in both her educational and vocational path.
Her mother Ada was a graduate of the Rhode Island School of Design. She greatly influenced Missy’s love of art. Her parents were avid travelers which she also loved until the end of her life.
Missy went to Trinity University where she earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Human Physiology and continued on to receive her Master's Degree in Engineering from Worcester Polytechnical Institute.
Missy started her career at Ciba-Geigy in Biotechnology. She worked for Marsh McLennan, the largest worldwide consulting and brokeage firm at the time, where she held many senior level roles. Missy served as one of the twelve National Resource Leaders within HealthSpectrum. She went on to lead the FinPro division, which was formed to consult in both healthcare and business around Y2K cybersecurity and HIPAA issues. She retired in 2003 as a Senior Vice President.
Missy and her husband, Bill McReynolds met in 1997 and were married in Las Vegas in July of 1999. Bill was a Marine pilot and had just started his airline career with FedEx. He has two sons, Brendan and Conor, from a previous marriage. Missy ensured that they traveled the world and had an appreciation for the Arts. She also instilled in them a love of music and cooking.
Missy just couldn’t retire. She opened a small insurance brokerage company in 2004 and closed it in 2014.
Bill and Missy moved to Hong Kong with FedEx in 2012. Living there allowed them to travel throughout Asia. They were able to share their love of travel with friends from Las Vegas and Chicago.
Missy had to return to the United States in 2015 for heart surgery and was unable to return to Hong Kong. She recovered rapidly and fulfilled her dream of opening a restaurant in Las Vegas known as The Rice Shop, which operated until 2018.
After the business was sold, Bill and Missy returned to Hong Kong, but due to the political unrest, they came back to the United States and faced a world plagued by Covid in 2020.
Missy had a lot of things she loved - cooking, dogs, travel, art, and music. She became active in Hadassah and had a strong love for Israel.
She was a kind, generous, compassionate, humble and caring person with a great sense of humor. Missy was extraordinary. She influenced the people in her life in many positive ways. She was a wonderful wife, and a devoted and loyal friend.
She passed away among friends while on a cruise in Asia. Missy will forever be in our hearts and may her memory be a blessing.
A graveside service will be held on Friday, 12/15/23 at 10 AM at Palm Valley View Cemetery, 7600 S. Eastern Avenue, Las Vegas, NV 89123.
Contributions in Missy's memory may be directed to Best Friends at bestfriends.org or Make A Wish Foundation at wish.org.