Obituary of Melissa Anne Silk

Melissa A Silk, 56, of Rockaway N.J. passed away on Jan. 19 2023 after a courageous battle with brain cancer.

Melissa was the daughter of Raymond Jay (deceased) and Dorothy Conlan; sister of Michael Conlan and his wife Katie; Tim Conlan and his wife Lena; Jeff Conlan (deceased) Kathleen Burnett, Lorrie McCarthy and her husband Terry; James Conlan and his wife Claudia; along with more nieces and nephews that could fill a banquet hall.

Melissa started her career in banking where she meet her husband Tom. After a short period they were married and bought a house in Rockaway.

Melissa and Tom started a family with their two sons Gavin and Colin. After Gavin was born and diagnosed with Autism, Melissa changed gears and found her true calling as an ABA/RBT therapist. She put here heart and soul into this career; making many friends for life.

She loved helping children. Her "over the top" personality made it easy to love her. Children and parents would either hide or welcome her, but in the end, they were always happy to see her once she smiled and told them how it was going to be. She loved this job more than anything; even to a point that she would teach swim lessons on the weekends.

Her smile and louder than normal laugh could get anyone in the mood to do something, even if they didn’t want to. She will be missed by everyone but mostly by the ones who truly loved her; including her animals Casey, MIlo, and Maddy. 

A Memorial Visitation for Melissa will be held on Saturday, January 28, 2023 from 2-6pm at Dangler Funeral Home, 600 Speedwell Avenue, Morris Plains. A continued flow throughout the Funeral Home will aid in keeping all of us healthy and safe, with everyone having an opportunity to pay their respects.

In lieu of flowers, the family kindly requests donations in memory of Melissa may be made to: Autism NJ (https://autismnj.org/).