Ciera Dawn Melson

Ciera was born August 9th 1992 in Pasadena CA. Ciera's mother Deidre was not allowed to attend the family's annual Vegas trip as the elders feared she was to far into pregnancy and it may be harmful to travel. It seems their fears were warranted, Ciera did decide to arrive on the Sunday the family was due to return. Ciera was a happy and inquisitive baby. She grew up in Los Angeles where she attended the Urban League's head start program and Budlong elementary school. When she was six her family relocated to Portland OR. where she remained for the rest of her life. While in Oregon she attended Sabin elementary school, Beaumont middle school and Jefferson  where she graduated from high school. Ciera was an artist and inspiring photographer. She attended both Mt Hood Community College and Clackamas Community College where she took multimedia courses. She joined the work force in 2009 during her junior year of high school and she continued to work from there. Ciera was part of SEI (Self Enhancement Inc). SEI afforded Ciera the opportunity to travel to Atlanta, Florida, North Carolina, and South Carolina while taking advantage of the black college tour. Ciera took advantage of Nike's young entrepreneur program where she developed a shoe from start to finish. The young entrepreneurs learned every aspect of developing a shoe. Each participating group was given the opportunity to create a shoe. Ciera's group won and was sent to California where their shoe was designed. Ciera loved art and was a free hand artist. She was thoughtful and loving. Ciera tried to keep up the appearance of being a mean person, but she was loving and thoughtful. She loved the holidays and would go out of her way to find the right gift for Christmas or perfect area for she and her little sister Dejai to trick or treat. She was quiet and introverted, at the same time being a prankster. She loved the Ducks and was a huge Lakers fan. She always pre-ordered her beloved Jordan's and her 2k video games, which she would put all the guys to shame. She shared a close bond with both biological family and extented family. She is survived by her father Jimmie, mother Deidre, her sisters Jazana, July, and Dejai, her brother's Tyree, Jimmie Jr and Archie. She also leaves behind her brother's from the block, a host of uncle's, aunties, cousins and friends. She will be deeply missed.