After a tenacious 15-month battle with a rare form of leukemia, Melissa Aida Torres (“Mel”, “Missy”, “Martha”) passed away at the Puget Sound VA Hospital in Seattle on Thurs, April 11, 2013, from complications of pneumonia. She was 47 years young.
The matriarch of a truly modern family, she died peacefully, surrounded by love and family. Always one to give to others, she waited until all of us were ready, giving us time to process, to say goodbye, and to arrive by planes, trains and automobiles. She took care of us all, to the very end. Melissa touched many lives at the hospital during her treatment.
Melissa was born in El Paso, Texas, on June 18, 1965, and grew up in Texas, Arizona and California. She attended the University of Arizona, before enlisting in the US Army in 1988. At various times in her distinguished military career with the active Army and Army National Guard, she served as a flight medic, personnel officer, recruiter, and TAC Officer. After retiring from the military, Melissa worked in a consulting business and for Literacy Bridge, a non-profit organization providing Talking Books throughout Ghana.
Melissa attended and graduated from Carroll College (Helena, MT) in 1998 with a degree in Sociology. At the time of her diagnosis, Melissa was also enrolled in Concord Law School, having completed 2 years of study.
She was an avid runner, a lover of food adventures, and a devout Catholic. She served on the Pastoral Council at Immaculate Conception parish in Seattle.
Her children, Alex and Garrett, were always and will forever be the most important thing in her life. She left us knowing that they are strong, brave, capable, in good hands, and that they will both use her sacrifices to build brilliant futures. She also took pride in caring for and helping to raise Augie and Rusha, who she affectionately called her “bonus kids”.
Melissa is survived by her daughter, Alex Shevalier (Bozeman), her son, Garrett Oleson (Helena), her mother, Norma Schaefer (Tucson), her father, Humberto Torres (Scott’s Valley), her brother, Bert Torres, Jr, her step-brother, Scott Hartman (Fairborn) her step-sisters, Jasmine Castro of (Scotts Valley) and Malaena Wilson of (Sacramento) and her psychotic Miniature Yorkie, Barkley.
A viewing will be held on Monday, April 23, 2013, 6pm-8pm, at the Retz Funeral Home in Helena, MT. Funeral services will be held on Tuesday, April 24, 2013 1pm, at the Fort Harrison VA Cemetery in Helena, MT. Memorial donations should be sent in her name to The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (http://www.lls.org) and/or to Literacy Bridge (http://www.literacybridge.org).
May your bottle of Poblano Hot Sauce never go dry, Dance Party never end, and may you all sing Suite: Judy Blue Eyes at the top of your lungs with love in your home and in your heart…
Fred Naeher says
Mellisa was a medic with our medical evacuation unit in the Montana National Guard. I knew when Mellissa was on the crew that day that we would have a successful training mission and have fun at the same time. I made it a point to avoid Mellissa and the other medics when it was IV training time. She took a great deal of delight to grab the nearest pilot to practice IV techniques. One training mission turned into a real medical evacuation. Mellissa was stung by a bee when we were out in the field. As we were getting ready to call it a day, another medic (I don’t remember who it was) noticed that her face and throat were swelling up and she was starting to have difficulty breathing. The entire crew responded like we were trained to respond. Mellissa did not have much of a choice because the other medic took charge and we flew her directly to St. Peter’s hosiptal. Much to the relief of us all, she was released several hours later and came back to drill. She took all the kidding in stride. No more bee stings where you are Mellissa. I will always remember your sense of humor, your strong spirit and that wonderful smile.