WILMINGTON — Melanie Elaine Norton, 64, passed away on January 18th, 2026. While her loss is felt profoundly by those she leaves behind, the family feels deep comfort knowing she is finally reunited with her twin brother and best friend, Mark Norton, who passed eleven years ago. She is also preceded in death by her mother, Betty Milligan, and her father, Joseph Norton.
A Master Florist by profession, Melanie held a degree in Horticulture and possessed a rare, instinctual eye for beauty. Her passion and creativity was evident in every arrangement she made. After retirement, she continued crafting beautiful arrangements for her friends and family.
Her life was as vibrant and varied as the flowers she loved having called California, Hawaii, Nicaragua, Texas, Japan, and North Carolina home. Though she embraced each place she lived, she was most proud of her California roots and her Osage Tribe heritage.
Melanie’s love was a verb. She expressed it through acts of service and nourishing those she cared for with her celebrated cooking and baking. To be loved by Melanie was to be fed by her; most notably through her famous spanakopita, a Christmas tradition her family looked forward to every year. Her memory will live on in the recipes she passed down and the spirit of togetherness she fostered.
She is survived by her two sons, Joseph Weeks and Wesley Weeks, and their wives; her brother, Matthew D. Norton; and her beloved dog and loyal companion, Daisy Mae. Her legacy of love continues through her cherished granddaughter, Amelia Elise Weeks, who “made her grand,” and her niece, Amanda Renee Norton and her children, who “made her great.”
At this time, no formal services are planned. In the coming months, the family plans to travel to California to lay her cremated remains to rest alongside her beloved brother Mark, with hopes of holding a small gathering at that time.
Melanie will be remembered for her creativity, her love of flowers and baking, and the loyalty she had for those she loved.
“To live in hearts we leave behind is not to die” – Thomas Campbell
