A Life Full of Light

Marissa Caitlyn Ladatto made an instant impact on everyone she met. From the moment she entered a room, she formed deep connections — with friends she held close, with causes she championed, and with a community that loved her back fiercely.

Marissa was a member of Bishop Dunne Catholic School's graduating Class of 2020, where she was voted Most Likely to be Famous and Most Talkative — two titles that captured her spirit perfectly. She sang in school productions, performed at her beloved United Methodist Church of Duncanville, and could often be found belting karaoke at a local restaurant with friends.

"Marissa made an instant impact on everyone whom she met and formed deep connections with friends she held dear."

— Marissa's Memorial

A Champion of Causes

Marissa cared about the world deeply. She volunteered with animal shelters, served the homeless, and worked with abused children in Ukraine. She showed up to local Pride parades and Black Lives Matter marches — not because it was convenient, but because she genuinely believed in standing up for others.

She was also a gifted writer, and after high school she enrolled at Dallas College, working toward a teaching degree in history with a dream of teaching third graders one day.

A Year Marked by Loss

Marissa's senior year was scarred by tragedy. In the second week of college, she lost a close friend to suicide. Two weeks later, her grandmother passed away. "From there, life just fell apart," her mother Amy remembers. Marissa struggled with grief, as so many young people do.

"Life just fell apart after that. And then, six months after graduation, we lost her too."

— Amy Brewer, Marissa's Mother

December 30, 2022

Six months after graduating, on December 30, 2022 — just 13 days after her 21st birthday — Marissa died from fentanyl poisoning. She had taken what she believed was a counterfeit prescription pill. She couldn't have known it was laced with a lethal dose of fentanyl.

Like so many victims of the fentanyl crisis, Marissa wasn't a stereotype. She was a daughter, a friend, a singer, a writer, a future teacher. She was someone who believed in changing the world for the better. And her death was entirely preventable.

The Mural

In 2024, students from Byrd Middle School and Duncanville High School came together to paint a memorial mural on a boulder in front of Marissa's family home. The artwork — a tiger with Marissa's image — was designed by student Tamia Norvell and painted by high schooler Joycelen Haro Banks.

"I hope they can realize that it's not a joke," said Banks. "It's not cool, it can really hurt someone. It can really kill someone."

Her Legacy

Marissa's Voice exists so that Marissa's death is not silent. Every school presentation, every community event, every conversation about fentanyl awareness carries her name forward. Her mother Amy won't stop until every parent, every teenager, and every community member understands: One Pill Kills.