Melva Boyance Desautel

A wise woman wishes to be no one's enemy; a wise woman refuses to be anyone's victim. Maya Angelou

Melva Boyance DeSautel lived an exceptional life on her own terms. Life on this sphere ended on October 16,  2023 at the age of 89.

Melva was preceded in death by her parents Delias Boyance and Bertha Aubry, sisters: Belva Boyance Thompson, Ethel Boyance Mallett, and brother Donald Boyance.

She is survived by her husband of 60 years Kenneth DeSautel; sisters: Maudry Boyance Dumas (Richard), Marie Boyance, Shirley Boyance; nephew Julien Boyance; great nephews: Jaques Boyance and Avery Boyance.

At age 13, Melva and her five sisters and one brother lost their mother who died during childbirth. Being the eldest daughter, her mother’s death left her with many of the child rearing responsibilities of a mother – a responsibility she accepted and carried out to the best of her abilities. These responsibilities added to her already-existing arduous familial duties to tend to the family farm picking okra and snap peas.

Upon graduation from high school, she grabbed her hidden packed luggage, snuck out of the house, and took a Greyhound Bus from New Iberia, Louisiana to the exotic and unfamiliar climes of Tucson, Arizona  -- over 1300 miles from home. She had never even visited Tucson and knew no one there. She selected Tucson as her destination because it was the farthest stop away from home that she could afford with her saved resources. Regardless, she never looked back except to financially assist her siblings back home.

Relying solely on grit and determination, Melva convinced the Arizona Daily Star to hire her as a receptionist. No one in her family had attended college, but Melva instinctively knew that an education was her ticket not only to survival but to the success she knew was within her grasp.  While working at the Daily Star, she attended Pima Community College and then the University of Arizona, earning two dual-major degrees (English/Journalism and History/Spanish).

During her three-plus decade career at the Daily Star, Melva rose through the ranks and ultimately became the Assistant City Desk Manager, a job she loved. At the newspaper she wore many hats and thrived in the hectic environment providing backup to reporters and photographers.

She retired from the Star but maintained an affiliation training and mentoring budding journalists.

Predictably, she became restless after retirement and obtained her teaching certificate. Pima County then hired her as an elementary school teacher and she later taught all grades in the Navajo Nation, which she frequently reflected was one of the most rewarding times of her life.

Discriminatory barriers to Melva were annoying, but certainly not insurmountable, obstacles that she batted away all her life. She was active in civil and women’s rights to include showing up to march.

In 1961 Melva met Kenneth DeSautel and married him in 1963 and shared her life with him until her death. Melva was very well read and almost to the day of her death enjoyed reading the newspaper and anything her cheaters would allow her to see and read.

She did not tolerate ignorance. Her common refrain to any form of disbelief to what she was saying was, “look it up,” long before the internet, which meant a trip to the public library or the newspaper archives.

In short, Melva was an elegant, intelligent, beautiful, stubborn, determined, strong-willed woman who left an indelible mark on everyone who had the experience of meeting her.

Pallbearers: Julien Boyance, Jaques Boyance, Avery Boyance, and Yolanda Gallegos.

In lieu of flowers contributions can be to the National Organization for Women at now.org