Tracy Dickinson Naasz

Tracy Dickinson Naasz, 44, of Melbourne, Fla., passed away on Friday, July 25, 2014, surrounded by her loving family. Tracy was born on Sept. 8, 1969, in Washington, D.C., to David and Judith (Wheeler) Dickinson. Tracy grew up in the D.C. area and then moved to Florida and graduated from Merritt Island High School. She earned an international affairs degree at Florida State University before launching an editorial career in D.C. at a company called BNA, which is where she met Kurt, her husband of nearly 20 years. They started a family in Arlington, Va., and moved to Melbourne after Tracy's diagnosis with ALS in 2001. During her 13-year battle with ALS, Tracy found joy and happiness in being with her family and watching her children grow up. Tracy possessed rare elegance and poise, genuine warmth and kindness, an acuity of mind and strength of spirit that gave her a unique combination of inward and outward beauty and grace. Left behind to mourn her loss are her husband, Kurt; her children, David and Anna; her parents, Dave and Judy; her sisters, Missy and Jodie; and her special troop of loving caregivers, Bonnie and Frank Naasz, Mary Callahan and Katherine Weissman. A celebration of Tracy's life will be held on Thursday, Aug. 7, at 2:00 p.m. at Beach Funeral Home on Wickham Rd. in Melbourne, with a service to begin at 4:00 p.m. Those wishing to send condolences may do so by visiting Tracy's book of memories at www.beachfuneralhome.com. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in Tracy's memory to the ALS Association by visiting www.alsa.org.