Missy Lynne (Brookman) Painter (1982 – 2024)

Missy Lynne (Brookman) Painter of Front Royal, lost her long battle with addiction on Saturday, October 26, 2024.

Missy Lynne (Brookman) Painter

Missy was born on January 8, 1982. She was the daughter of Vicky Llewellyn and Michael Brookman.

Along with her parents, cousins, aunts, uncles, nieces, and nephews, Missy is survived by her stepfather, Steve Llewellyn; her daughters, Alexis Painter, Brylee Painter, and Lilian Painter; and her son, Nathaniel Thomas. Missy was the oldest of all her siblings and is survived by her sisters, Amy Dodson and Kasey Brookman; her brothers, Steven Llewellyn, and Christopher Brookman; the father of her daughters, Justin Painter, and his mother, Vicki Jimenez, who thought of Missy as the daughter she never had; and many lifelong friends.

Missy was preceded in death by her maternal grandparents, Albert and Nancy Barnes, and paternal grandparents, Ralph and Jeanette Brookman.

Missy was a lifelong resident of Warren County, where she graduated from Warren County High School, Class of 2000, and attended Radford University in Blacksburg, Virginia.

Missy started taking drugs and alcohol when she was in high school, and this had a profound influence on her ability to control herself as an adult.

Drugs and alcohol told her, “I can make you feel accepted, I can make you feel alright, I can make you feel worthy, I can make you feel normal, I make you feel loved, and I can make you feel nothing and make you feel like everything will be okay.” What it didn’t tell her was how it would devastate her family and tear it apart, take her job and leave her penniless, take her home, and make her homeless. How would it take her sparkle and smile, how would it take her humor, and how would it take and take and take until it took her life?

Due to an overdose, the light of a funny, intelligent, kind-hearted spirit was taken from our lives by relentless addiction. Our family asks that you realize that no one is immune to the epidemic of drug and alcohol addiction that engulfs our culture. We fought as hard as we could to help Missy, and our constant hope of her recovery dashed so senselessly is devastating. We must fight hard against these drugs, prevalent everywhere, because they defile the brain’s ability to make sound decisions to save one’s self.

The family will receive friends at Maddox Funeral Home in Front Royal at 11:00 a.m. on Wednesday, November 6, 2024. A service will follow in the chapel at 12:00 noon. Burial will follow in Panorama Memorial Gardens in Waterlick.