Melanie Urbano, age 45 years, of Hillsborough, NJ, former longtime resident of Browns Mills, NJ, died peacefully with her mother and father holding her hands on Thursday, January 6, 2022 at Hunterdon Medical Center, Raritan Township, NJ.

Born in Newark, NJ, January 16, 1976, daughter of Donna Urbano Davison and James John Metsopulos, she will forever be remembered for the genuine love she brought to all persons while she walked the path God had designed.

As a child, Melanie had an experience that some would say defined and shaped her life, others not so much as she had many innate traits of beauty and grace and that maybe this event just brought them out sooner than later. With her parents noticing some balance issues, Melanie was soon labeled with the diagnosis that no parent wants to hear, childhood brain cancer. With Melanie herself leading the charge, she fought on all fronts until the cancer was cured. However, in the 1980’s, medicine was not where it is today, and the radiation and other treatments would leave Melanie with several long lasting effects that though would eventually claim her life, never claimed her sweet and sassy spirit.

Over the years Melanie never let her illnesses stop her from living and loving the world God created for her and all his children. She attended school, traveled and had several jobs, with her two favorite being providing child care at Burlington County College and her smile bring light and joy to the customers at the Acme in Browns Mills, where she worked in various departments from floral design to checkout.

Having a various array of hobbies and interests, all reflected God’s love and light in her heart. She strove to bring his good works to her own actions and was a source of hope for all with whom she came into contact. She loved a large cup of Wawa french vanilla cappuccino as well as attending concerts by artists from Prince to Aerosmith. She also enjoyed dancing, singing, and working on puzzles as well as loving any furry creature that she met. Her spirit of adventure was boundless; she even took a trip to Hawaii in her mid-30’s as she said from a child she would do it-and she did! When she set her mind to something, there was no stopping her. Most importantly, she was a true people person, so as long as she was with people, usually helping them in some way, she was happy.

Facing the prospect of a short life before hers was even really started, she always found home in the words of John 3:16 which state, For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life. Rest in the sweetest peace that you have truly earned, Melanie.

In addition to her mother, Donna, and father, James, surviving are her siblings, Anthony and his wife, Moonie Urbano, Jason and his wife, Marycela Urbano, Daniel and his wife, Pamela Metsopulos, James Paul Metsopulos and his significant other, Lexis, and Marlena Davison and her partner, Brittany; her niece, Morgan; her nephews, Jett, and Jeremiah, who is also her godson; several extended family members; and many caregivers and friends.

Melanie will lie in repose on Wednesday, January 12, 2022 from 9:30 – 11:00 a.m. in the Chapel of Wright & Ford Family Funeral Home and Cremation Services, 38 State Highway 31, Flemington, NJ. Everyone is kindly requested to wear masks at the funeral home. Your cooperation and understanding is greatly appreciated by the family.

A life celebration service officiated by Rev. Lauretta Market will take place on Wednesday, January 12, 2022 at 11:00 a.m. at the funeral home and to which all are welcome.

Realizing that some may be unable to attend due to the pandemic, the life celebration service on Wednesday will be live-streamed, with the stream being active starting at 10:45 a.m. To watch, please click HERE and kindly ensure you do not have a pop-up blocker enabled. (If you are having issues with clicking above, please follow this link: https://vimeo.com/event/1714126).

Burial in the family plot will follow at Holy Cross Cemetery, North Arlington, NJ.

You are encouraged to visit Melanie’s permanent life celebration site at www.wrightfamily.com to light a candle of hope, leave messages of condolence, share words of comfort and recollection, and post photographs of her life.

Memorial contributions in her honor and memory may be sent to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, via mail to 501 St. Jude Place, Memphis, TN 38105 or online by clicking HERE.

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Wright & Ford, your local, family owned & operated “Life Celebration Home”