Congratulations to Melody Tutor, a registered nurse in the Radiology Department, who recently retired after 28 years with North Mississippi Medical Center.

While Melody has officially been a registered nurse since earning her associate degree in nursing from Northeast Mississippi Community College in Booneville in 1989, she has been a nurse-by-heart for her entire life. Melody has known from an early age that she was called to serve others through nursing.

Melody pursued her nursing education while raising three young children. Out of 64 classmates, only she and one other student were able to graduate and attain licensure within two years. “I didn’t know there was an option of taking longer!” Melody says.

Melody spent the majority of her nursing career in Emergency Services, where she learned new skills daily while caring for various injuries and illnesses. She also worked at Nurse Link, Center for Digestive Health and Bronchoscopy lab before finishing out her career in Radiology.

“The best part of my job has been doing all the little things to make the patient or coworker feel better, even for a few minutes,” Melody says. “Big things matter, but it’s the little things that make the difference.”

Her (now adult) children remember being so proud of how many “apples” she wore on her lapel during a long-running hospital accolade program. Because of positive patient feedback, red and gold apples soon overtook her entire nametag! During her brief time away from NMMC, she received the Nurse Excellence Award at Northside Hospital-Cherokee in Georgia.

“Retirement will not stand in the way of being a nurse at the core,” Melody says. Her legacy continues as she is the first of three generations to choose North Mississippi Health Services for their career.

Known as 'Big Mama' to her grandchildren and to many at NMHS, Melody will be remembered for her kindness to patients and for sharing homemade treats with her teammates. Although she is officially retiring, her coworkers have been assured the treats will continue.

A resident of Tupelo, Melody has three children and five grandchildren. In retirement, she plans to spend time with her family and friends, travel, party plan, sing at church, and continue to cook for others.