Gerald Wayne Melton, Sr., 62, died Aug. 26, 2007, at St. Elizabeth Health Services.
His memorial service will be at at 1p.m. on Friday at Grays West & Co. Pioneer Chapel, 1500 Dewey Ave. Pastor Robin Harris of the Cornerstone Baptist Church at North Powder will officiate. Friends are invited to join the family afterward or a dinner being held at the Veterans of Foreign Wars Club, 2005 Valley Ave.
Jerry was born at Yuba City, Calif., on Feb. 4, 1945. He was very close to his parents and they kept tabs on each other daily as his health declined.
Jerry and Connie met at Marvin Wood Products in February of 1992 and married in June of 1992. He was employed there until chronic obstructive pulmonary disease forced him to retire in 1999. Jerry loved his job and enjoyed working with so many of the old timers still working there today.
He enjoyed fishing for crappie and catfish on the Snake River. Jerry and Connie enjoyed the hunt more than the harvest during buck and elk season. Jerry turned a city girl into a wood hunter when they would cruise the forest roads looking for game, but finding conversation. For that, Connie said, she will always be grateful.
Jerry loved and enjoyed his grandchildren, making sure that each one caught his or her first trout in the irrigation canal in front of his house. They gave him great joy. He was a great friend and husband, his family said. He will be missed by his wife, his family, and his four dogs, Tator, Hope, Katie and Thorn.
Jerry was a born-again Christian and was strong in his faith.
Survivors include his wife of 15 years, Connie; his parents, Wilma and Aurelio Quinonez; his son, Wayne Melton and grandchildren, Kylie and Cody Kristian Colnot and grandson, Gabriel, Kurtis Colnot, his wife Danielle, and grandchildren River and Red, all of Baker City; his daughter, Penny Lee Obenshain, and grandchildren David, Michael, and Daniel; two brothers, Ray Griffin, and his wife, Ann, of Baker City and Don Griffin and his wife, Nadine, of Meridian Idaho; brother-in-law, Douglas Combes and his wife, Peggy, of Buckeye Ariz.; sister-in-law, Carol Combes of El Cajon, Calif.; and many nieces and nephews.
Memorial contributions may be made to ourfallensoldier.com through Grays West & Co., 1500 Dewey Ave., Baker City, OR 97814.
Used with permission from: Baker City Herald, Baker City, Oregon, August 29, 2007
Transcribed by: Belva Ticknor