Melba was born in Wise County Virginia to parents Thurston and Bertha (Rutherford) Hubbard. She was second youngest of seven children, three brothers and four sisters. She learned the value of hard work, fortitude and economy growing up on the family farm through the depression era. She later met and married the love of her life, Campbell Bascom Slemp in 1948. They welcomed oldest son Campbell Gregory in 1950 and youngest son Kenneth Warren in 1953. Having trained before deployment to the Pacific War Zone and mustering out of the army at Fort Lewis after World War2 Bascom was determined to return and around 1956 loaded up his family and moved them to the Pacific NW eventually settling down in the beautiful little town of Steilacoom, WA. Sadly Bascom passed away in 1966 after a hard fought battle with cancer leaving Melba widowed with two teenage boys to raise. She never remarried and met this challenge head on working part time at JC Penney in the old Lakewood Villa Plaza. While working there she continued her education. Upon completion of her studies she went to work at Clover Park Vocational Technical School, first in the front office and later as office manager and completing her career as accounts manager in the rapidly expanding Automotive Education Department until her retirement in 1989. She enjoyed her work immensely and made lifelong friendships at both JC Penney and CP VocTech. She saw to it that both her sons completed their college education. She proudly saw Greg commissioned into the U.S. Air Force as a lieutenant in 1973 and being dual qualified in both fighters and B52 bombers and was very proud of Warren as shipping manager for two major paper mills and completing his career at Lakewood Water Company. A loving mother and great cook, which we might add she passed on to her boys, she will be sorely missed. She is survived by both Greg (Zenaida) of Puyallup, WA and Warren (Julie) of Steilacoom, three grandchildren and three great grandchildren.  A visitation will be Friday, December 30, 2022 from 11:00 AM-4:30 PM at New Tacoma Funeral Home.