Melvin A. Meland, Sr.

April 20, 1924 - November 05, 2015

Melvin A. Meland, Sr. Obituary Melvin A. Meland Sr. passed away peacefully on November 5th at the age of 91. Mel was born in White Earth, North Dakota, to Axel and Beatrice (Hamley) Meland on April 20, 1924, Easter Sunday. He moved to Spokane at a young age and graduated from West Valley High School in 1942. Mel married right out of high school but divorced shortly thereafter. From that union came his first child, Dolores Anne, also known as �Punky�. Mel enlisted in the Army during WWII, was shipped overseas to Europe and stationed in England for medical training. He was later assigned to the 58th Field Hospital. They landed on Utah Beach after it was taken and were later moved into the Battle of the Bulge in Luxembourg. At the end of the war, he was stationed in Munich, Germany, and rescued a young fraulein from drowning in the Isar River. The war department did not make it easy, but he ended up marrying that fraulein, Thea Huber, and bringing her back to Spokane. They settled in the Spokane Valley and there they raised their 3 children, Melvin (Butch), Judi and Frank. Mel went to work at the Inland Empire Paper Company and retired as a Refiner Operator after 40 years there. Mel and Thea would regularly visit his sister, Betty Stone, in the Carmel and Pebble Beach area in California. Mel was a big fan of Clint Eastwood and spotted the actor a few times when he was mayor of that community. While never a player, he enjoyed the golf tournaments and was also a fan of the Seattle Mariners and Seahawks. Mel�s greatest sporting talent was fishing. He had an uncanny ability to find where fish were hiding and know what they would be biting. He loved nothing better than to be out trolling a lake at the crack of dawn and would rarely miss a good strike. He was one of the best of the regulars fishing for steelhead during his annual trek each October to Pateros, WA. While Mel didn�t like getting skunked, he always got a kick out of anybody in his fishing party getting a good catch. Mel had a fun-loving nature and was always young-at-heart. He enjoyed attending the many sporting events of his grandchildren. They all loved him dearly, but always had to be on the watch for Grandpa Mel sneaking up behind them for a good scare or a quick tickle. Mel was preceded in death by his parents and sister. He is survived by his loving wife Thea, and his four children, Dolores Anne (Dan) Reaves of Leawood KS, Melvin (Diane) Meland Jr., Judi (Duane) Giese, and Frank (Ellen) Meland, all from Spokane WA. He also leaves behind 11 grandchildren, several cousins and many great-grandchildren. Special thanks to the extraordinary people at Colonial Court Assisted Living and Denny�s on Argonne who helped and gave friendship to Mel in his later years. Services will be held at Heritage Funeral Home on Monday, November 16 at 1:00 PM. Visitation is on Saturday, November 14 from 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM and Monday, November 16 from 9:00 AM to 1:00 PM. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions in Mel�s name may be sent to the Union Gospel Mission, Spokane. � To plant a beautiful memorial tree in memory of Melvin, please visit our Tree Store. Read more Events NOV 5