A master storyteller, Mel’s laughter and light-hearted teasing served as a palatable medicine for his family. His unerring sense of humor eased them through the difficulty of financial insecurity, soothed the heartache of the valley of death, and brightened the highs and lows of ordinary days.

Underneath her father’s jolly exterior, however, beat a heart determined to fulfill the command of Christ to “love your neighbor as yourself.”  This commitment called for a personal sacrifice, one that stretched his faith and shaped his character.  

It also led him to people and places he’d never imagined!  From fish bones and unreliable guest beds to pranksters in the morgue and mountain slides in the Middle East, Mel will testify that living for God and your neighbor is anything but dull!