Pamela “Mela” Ann Brady died peacefully on
June 19, holding the hand of her daughter, Vanessa, with a touch of
tequila on her lips and a Tibetan prayer guiding her on her final
journey.
Born on February 26, 1948, to Gene Brady and
Kathryn Keasling in Washington, D.C., Mela grew up in Minneapolis and
graduated from West High School and the University of Minnesota. When
her mother passed away before fulfilling her own dreams, Mela
committed herself to living a life filled with deep and abiding
friendships, far-flung adventures, and transformational healing. Her
fierce soul and generous heart made her a complex and contradictory
woman, who was also a passionate, loyal friend, touching the lives of
many across the country and around the globe.
Mela arrived in Vermont in 1977 to attend the
School for International Training in Brattleboro, where she earned
her master’s degree in International Administration, after interning
for CARE in Tunisia. She soon realized, however, that her true
calling was in the healing arts. She went on to graduate from the New
England School of Acupuncture and opened her own practice in
Montpelier, where she moved in 1984 with her then-husband Peter Lind,
and their baby daughter, Vanessa. She received advanced clinical
training in Hangzhou, China, and soon added Qi Gong and then Sound
Healing to her array of healing talents.
Mela used her gift for healing to serve people
in Vermont and internationally. At home, she treated veterans for
PTSD and helped people with addiction at several clinical settings,
including the Waterbury Women’s prison. She combined her passion
for travel with her professional skills, training midwives in the
mountains of Tibet, helping earthquake victims in Honduras and
rejuvenating depleted emergency workers following the tsunami in
Indonesia.
Locally, she was a practitioner in several
group practices, including Collaborative Healthworks, White Peony and
Breathing Light, and she was an acupuncturist at Gifford Hospital for
many years. She continued in solo practice up until her “retirement”
the week before she passed. Though she could present a tough, and
even ferocious, face to the world, her soft, intuitive nature came
through in her practice, and many of the clients who knew and relied
on this side of Mela became close friends over the years.
In 1989, Mela fell for the dashing, rock-solid
Kevin McGinley. Together they built a welcoming paradise, “Lupine
Castle,” on their property in Moretown, where they hosted friends
from far and wide. A trip to Mela and Kevin’s often included a
skinny-dip in the pond, a round of bucket golf and a cocktail or a
toke in the hot tub under the stars. She was the consummate party
host, organizing the annual rollicking Pisces Party with three other
Pisces couples.
Mela was diagnosed with metastatic thyroid
cancer in 2016. With Kevin by her side, she used her remarkable will
to stretch her time to six more fully-lived years, hiking, biking,
kayaking, xc-skiing and playing tennis and bridge. Play was
essential, and a beautiful day required attention and action. She was
a persistent motivator, getting her friends out to enjoy all that
Vermont has to offer. In her last month, Mela made a final trip to
Portland, Ore., to visit her daughter and beloved granddaughter,
Sidney.
Mela was laid to rest in a green burial
ceremony on the hilltop overlooking her property. Friends gathered to
wrap her in a flower-covered shroud, tell stories of their time with
her and send her on her final journey.
The original print version of this article was headlined “Pamela Brady, 1948-2022”
The original print version of this article was headlined “Moretown woman used her gift of healing to serve people in Vermont and internationally”
This article appears in The Cartoon Issue 2022.