Mrs. Melissa Ann Norton

Melissa Norton, 48, of Bedford, Texas passed away on December 23rd, 2021 after a courageous two and a half year battle with triple negative breast cancer. Melissa was born in Kansas City, Missouri on April 16th, 1973 to Barbara and Robert Herbison and spent the first eleven years of her life in the Kansas City area. At that time she moved with her family to Bedford, Texas where she spent the remainder of her childhood.

Melissa graduated from Trinity High School where she was an exceptional student and participated in many extracurricular activities. She entered the University of Texas at Austin as a freshman and completed her double major bachelor’s degree in 4 years in spite of having to battle panic disorder which onset early in her college career. Melissa quickly grew to love Austin and lived and worked there for a period of time after graduating. She totally surprised her parents when she announced one day that she had applied for a job to teach English in Japan. She was interviewed and quickly offered a position. She knew no one in Japan and did not speak the language yet she boldly got on an airplane and went off to pursue that adventure. She spent two and a half years there and thoroughly enjoyed it. After returning to the States Melissa held a wide variety of jobs during her career and always produced outstanding work. Her most recent employment was with Cigna Insurance. Melissa made good friends at every stop along her career path and continued those relationships long after she had moved on to another job.

Melissa found love later in life and she was married to Benjamin Norton in 2007. They shared many interests and actively pursued those together. Ben’s father is a doctor and his mother is a nurse. They were active in Doctor’s Without Borders. As a wedding present they invited Ben and Melissa to go along with them on a trip to Africa which was an incredible experience for them. Ben and Melissa were blessed with a son, Jordan Robert Norton, in 2013. What incredible joy that young man brought to them and their extended family. Melissa so dearly loved Jordan and was an incredible mother.

Melissa was a very talented writer….she loved language and words. Her regular missals from Japan were such a pleasure to read and made you feel as though you were there. She enjoyed reading, movies – especially those from the horror genre, pizza, cats, bats (from her time in Austin), lunching with her many, many friends and vacationing with her family at Roaring River State Park in the Missouri Ozarks. She was a rabid Dallas Mavericks fan and perhaps the biggest Dirk Nowitzki booster on the face of the earth. She loved animals, especially dogs and cats. Her beloved cat Norby provided her companionship for many years. When Norby left this world the family quickly found his successor, Simon. Her greatest joy in life was her husband Ben and their son Jordan. She was a long-time member of William C. Martin United Methodist Church.

She was preceded in death by her mother Barbara Herbison, her maternal grandfather Norbert Wisneski and her paternal grandparents Paul and Martha Herbison. She is survived by her husband Ben, her son Jordan of the home, her father Robert Herbison, her brother Steve Herbison and his wife Jackie, her nieces Emily and Olivia Herbison, her maternal grandmother Patsy Wisneski and her father and mother-in-law Ben and Sue Norton.

She will always be remembered as a loving and dedicated wife and mother, incredible daughter and sister and an amazing friend by those who were blessed enough to know her and share her life. She will be greatly missed.

When the family has had an opportunity to absorb this terrible, premature and painful loss there will be a Celebration of Life service in her honor at church.

In lieu of flowers donations to The American Cancer Society in her name would be greatly appreciated.

Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.bluebonnethills.com for the Norton family.