Celebration Of Her Life, May 26, In San Francisco

A celebration noting the special life of Melissa Heather Milne Goulder will be held Sunday, May 26th at 1p.m. at the National AIDS Memorial Grove’s Dogwood Crescent, Circle of Friends, the Heart of the National AIDS Memorial in San Francisco California – Golden Gate Park.

Melissa was born at John Muir Hospital in Walnut Creek on November 27, 1981. She grew up here attending Indian Valley Elementary, WCI and Las Lomas HS (Class 2K).

To honor Melissa’s memory, we are having Melissa’s name included among the “Circle of Friends Engravings” at the National AIDS Memorial Grove.

Acquiring HIV/AIDS in 1981 through a blood transition at birth, by the age of 8, Melissa chose to go public with her diagnosis. Her activism helped to make possible HIV/AIDS medication distribution throughout the United States for infants and children.

Seen as the Ryan White, of California, in 1991 while in the third grade Melissa told her third grade classmates at Indian Valley School in Walnut Creek, California that she was infected with HIV – the virus that leads to AIDS.

She met with members of congress, The Surgeon General, and President and Mrs. Clinton. She was interviewed by many news organizations, such as ABC, NBC, CBS, and CNN, She appeared on the Today Show and in magazines such as People. Melissa even co-wrote an episode for “Touched by an Angel” that dealt with teens with AIDS going through depression, a subject that no one had ever dealt with before. She even had a walk-on part in that episode.

She died January 29, 2019. I was blessed to have been in Melissa’s life for 30 years and experience the true spirit and heart of a Warrior.

Location of Service: Nancy Pelosi Drive & Bowling Green Drive, San Francisco, CA