Dr. Jesselyn Rose Gaona

Dr. Jesselyn Rose Gaona (Melcher-Post) left this world on December 17, 2025–far too early–after a valiant five-year battle with colorectal cancer. She was just 40 years old, and had so much left to offer this world.

Jesselyn, daughter of Mary Melcher and Thomas Post, was a Phoenix native who grew up in Ahwatukee. She was a precocious and curious child who kept her parents on their toes, and famously told them that she’d like both a brother and a sister just before her mother found out she was carrying twins. She was four when her brother (Jeremy) and sister (Katie) were born, and as they all grew, she earned the nickname “Ms. Boss.” She also was called the “Energizer Bunny” because she was always active.

Jesselyn and her family enjoyed family trips to Montana, Maryland, California, and camping all around Arizona. An excellent swimmer from an early age, she swam on teams throughout childhood. Jesselyn and her family attended Tempe Friends (Quaker) Meeting where she had a difficult time not giggling during silent meetings. During one Christmas play, she played God, and those watching later commented that they enjoyed the giggling God. When she played house with friends, she would always be the mother, a role that suited her well. And from a very early age, she loved the outdoors, whether it was hiking, river rafting in Montana, chasing fireflies in Maryland with her siblings, or spending time in and around the ocean.

Next came high school at Desert Vista, where Jesselyn studied hard (taking every honors and AP class possible), played freshman basketball before becoming a varsity tennis star. She met people who became lifelong friends (and some even professional colleagues). And she discovered that alongside her dream of one day becoming a doctor, she had an affinity for the Spanish language that would end up shaping so much of her professional and personal life going forward. She also spent her summers as a lifeguard with the City of Tempe.

College at the University of Arizona followed, and Jesselyn was a biology and Spanish literature double major with medical school firmly in her sights. In between her regular coursework (at which she, of course, excelled), she found time to volunteer at University Medical Center’s cancer center, work in a research lab, volunteer with Camp Wildcat to provide underprivileged kids a chance to have fun experiences. But it was in an honors Spanish literature class in the spring of 2005 that she first laid eyes on a young man named Andy with, as one friend put it, “spiky hair and cool eyes.”

Jesselyn and Andy started talking and quickly hit it off. Though there were some bumps in the road, it was clear they were meant to be together. After graduating from college, they lucked out; Jesselyn was admitted to the first graduating class of the University of Arizona College of Medicine - Phoenix, with Andy admitted to the Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law at Arizona State University. They supported each other through medical school and law school, and lucked out again when Jesselyn matched into the family residency program at Banner University Medical Center - Phoenix.

During Jesselyn’s residency, she discovered her true professional passion while rotating through the Wesley Community & Health Center, a federally qualified health center serving the uninsured and underinsured in south central Phoenix. Though she had many other job opportunities on the table when she graduated–she was, after all, co-chief resident for her class and supremely qualified to do whatever she wanted–there was no question that Wesley is where she’d start her career. And Wesley became a huge part of who she was as she quickly rose through the ranks, became chief medical officer at a very young age, and led Wesley through the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, all the while seeing and advocating for the patients she so loved.

But the most important parts of her life showed up in 2015 and 2018–her daughters Marilena and Maia. It turns out that even when you’re a doctor tasked with healing people, your most important job is really being a parent. And it’s a job at which she excelled. Jesselyn loved being their mom and couldn’t get enough of watching them experience the world as they learned and grew. Traveling with the girls and Andy was perhaps her favorite thing to do–if you knew her well, you know she always had to have a trip to look forward to.

Jesselyn should have been able to be a mother, a wife, and a physician for decades more. But the universe had other ideas. In December 2020, doctor became patient as she was diagnosed with colorectal cancer. A year later, she learned the cancer had spread and the prognosis was not great. And when others might have given up, she persisted. She pored over studies, interacted with online communities of others with CRC, sought out the best surgeons on both sides of the country, and did everything she could to spend as much time as possible with her girls. Every extra month, week, and day was important to her. That’s why just one month before she started hospice care, she was walking through Disneyland with her family (and probably hiding a considerable amount of pain).

Jesselyn’s big smile brightened every room she walked into. Even toward the end, she found great joy in the small things: specifically, subjecting her hospice room visitors to pore strips on their noses. And her legacy will be reflected in the love she showed to her family, friends, patients, and community, who will carry her memory and love forward.

A celebration of Jesselyn’s incredible life will be held on February 1, 2026 at 2:00 PM at Golden Gate Community Center (1625 N. 39th Avenue, Phoenix, AZ 85009), the place where she last saw patients. All are welcome. There will also be a Quaker memorial held at a later date. In lieu of flowers, her family requests that donations be made in her honor to the Wesley Community & Health Centers and the Jesselyn R. Gaona, MD Fund for Family Medicine Education within the Banner Foundation.