STRONG – Rena Eunice (Walsh) Melvin, 76, passed away peacefully at her home in Strong on Saturday, Jan. 10, 2009, in the presence of her loving family and her tomcat, Ted.
The youngest daughter of Eunice Idell Woodsome and Ranald Charles Walsh, Rena was born on Dec. 4, 1932 at the family farm on Wheeler Hill in Phillips. She lost both parents by the age of 17.
On August 21, 1954, Rena married Navyman Harold “Sonny” Lloyd Melvin and spent 20 years as a military wife traveling the country gathering friends, memories, and what would ultimately become the cherished family recipes. Upon retiring home to Maine, Rena worked as an inspector at Forster’s Manufacturing and, later in life, quietly served as primary caretaker of her husband for 14 years.
Rena happily placed others before herself, and gave without expecting anything in return. Family was her life. She found great joy in her role as Nana, showering her grandchildren with love and affection. She also loved the light of dawn, with its coffee and intimate conversation. She filled the farm with smells of home cooking, copies of Better Homes & Gardens, and plants she inherited from her matriarchs. She truly set an impossible standard.
Rena is predeceased by two sisters, Mildred Howard and Doris Tyler, and her beloved stepson, Timothy Melvin. She is survived by her husband Harold Melvin and two sisters, Hazel Gordon and Grace Davenport Williams. Her legacy continues through her children, Dave Lloyd Melvin, Sheryl Leigh (Melvin) Coolong and husband Scott, stepson Michael Melvin and wife Cathy, and her three grandchildren: Amanda Leigh Coolong, Joel Scott Coolong and Jonathan Dylan Melvin Lambert Richards.
In lieu of flowers, donations can be made in Rena’s honor to the American Diabetes Association www.diabetes.org or the National Kidney Foundation www.kidney.org.
At her request, a graveside service will be held in June at the Miles Square cemetery in Avon. Inquiries should be directed to Dave and Sheryl at 207-684-5321. Arrangements under the direction of Adams~McFarlane Funeral & Cremation Sevices, 108 Court St., Farmington.
We love you, Rena. Your sweet, gentle spirit touched all who had the privilege of knowing you.
