Oregon’s Country Coffee Mourns the Death of Owner Melanie Ward

Melanie Ward at the recent Coffee Fest PNW show. Country Coffee photo.

Oregon-based coffee entrepreneur, roaster and Country Coffee Company Owner Melanie Ward died earlier this month following an ATV accident on her property. She was 30 years old.

Ward purchased a coffee stand in Boring, Oregon, in 2012, before growing the Country Coffee business to include all-women-owned franchise locations, and seven retail locations overall.

Country Coffee photo.

The company also operates a mobile trailer for events, and it opened a roastery last year. The company says that other projects were in the works, and that friends and family plan to keep moving forward to continue Ward’s Country Coffee legacy.

 

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Following is a portion of a remembrance shared by Country Coffee. Read the full version, including memorial details, here (Instagram link):

To know her was to love her. A daughter, granddaughter, sister, wife, a loving mother, a best friend. Melanie was a bright light in this world.

Melanie was born in Portland, Oregon, on November 20, 1991, to Denise Meyers and Greg Osburn. Melanie attended Walt Morey Middle School in Troutdale, where she met Mitch, the boy who would become the man of her dreams, her best friend, husband, and the father of their beautiful children. She graduated from Reynolds High School in 2010 and continued her education and received her bachelor’s degree in business from Warner Pacific University.

While earning her business degree, Melanie pursued a career in coffee and purchased Country Coffee, a stand in Boring, Oregon. Country Coffee was a small business that she built into a thriving and successful franchise. By 2022 she expanded Country Coffee to include seven total locations, franchise owners, a mobile event coffee trailer, a roasting company, and so much more to come– projects, plans and a legacy that will be carried on by her family and Country Coffee team. While building her small business empire, Melanie was a community advocate, constantly supporting local charities and elevating young entrepreneurs and small business owners to new heights. Mel loved seeing others succeed.

To say Melanie was adored by everyone is an understatement. She was loved profoundly because she loved deeply and shined her light on everyone around her. Melanie was a beautiful spitfire, extremely funny, so humble and incredibly giving. She enjoyed boating, camping, and all outdoor activities. Most of all, Melanie cherished family and she always put her loved ones first. While Mel was incredibly driven and hardworking, with so many impressive accomplishments as a young adult, Mel’s biggest accomplishment and deepest love was for her twin babies. She loved being a mom! Her dreams and devotion for them remain alive in her spirit and carried on by her husband, family and loved ones.