There simply aren't enough words to describe all she was to everyone who knew her. She had a heart much bigger than her stature would imply and she often gave of herself to others, sometimes to her own detriment. In her childhood she tap-danced and was an Honor Queen in Job's Daughters. She was never one to go along just to get along. She held very strong opinions and passionately defended them when challenged, but a well-reasoned argument could sometimes win her over. She was an early video game enthusiast and continued to play throughout her life. She particularly loved the Legend of Zelda series. Melanie had a great love of music. She played oboe, and later, she taught herself cello as a way to try and regain what her diagnosis of multiple sclerosis had taken from her. She always wanted to live life on her own terms, no matter how bad the cards she was dealt. She loved tattoos and was always planning her next one, or someone else’s. Melanie was also not one to avoid taking chances. Without too much preparation, she left home to work the OzzFest concert tour. Because of this she got to travel the country, another love of hers. She got to tour Europe as well with a friend. I will not speak of her first husband other than to say she had one, and they were not meant for one another. Before she was ill, she helped people for a living. When her symptoms were finally managed, she went back to helping people for a living. She had a love of education. She earned an Associate degree from University of Phoenix and completed a nursing certificate program at Pima Medical College. She used that training to help care for elderly and disabled patients so they could stay in their own homes. Her love and kindness spread to the animal kingdom as well. Many who knew her truly believed she would meet her end trying to pet an animal she should not have. Melanie was a woman of simple pleasures. Most of them were related to the Halloween season, and her passing at the beginning of it adds some salt to the wound of our loss. She looked forward to Count Chocula cereal and combing the Spirit Halloween stores for bat and spider decorations or Halloween-themed scented candles. All that being said, nothing meant more to her than her family and she thought of us first as she battled her cancer. She made all her own final arrangements and paid for them so that none of us would have to worry about it. She even made arrangements with the owners of the Jerome Grand Hotel to spread her ashes, as that was one of the places she had been happiest in her life. Her bonds with her nieces and nephews were especially strong. Had she had the chance, she would have been an amazing mother. Those who never knew her are poorer for it. Melanie has left a hole in the hearts of her husband Jonathan Rundlett; mother Debbie Femmer; father Damon Femmer; step-mother Cathy Femmer; sister Robin Femmer; niece Claire Femmer; grand-niece Lily Navarett; sister-in-law Laurie Geary, her husband Patrick and son Owen; step-sister Kathleen Coursault, her husband Michael and children Olivia and William; step-brother Matthew McSorley, his wife Lori and children Christian and Rylan; best friend Alison Cohen; as well as many aunts, uncles and cousins.