1934
Nancy
2007
Nancy Melton
March 7, 1934 — August 2, 2007
Nancy Ruth Thatch-Melton, 74 years old, of Mission, Kansas, died in hospital on Thursday, August 2, 2007, after a month-long attempt to recuperate.
Born on March 7, 1934 to Daniel Raymond Thatch and Ruby Marie Emmett-Thatch, in Conway, Arkansas, Nancy moved with her parents a short time later to Springfield, MO where Nancy spent her childhood. She would begin her education at Phelps Grade School, where she would unknowingly meet her future husband, David Melton in kindergarten and would complete her primary schooling at Rountree Elementary. In 1947, she advanced from Jarrett Junior High School and, in 1949, received a diploma from Central High School. In 1952, Nancy earned a teaching degree from Southwest Missouri State University (now Missouri State University) in Springfield, MO.
As early as 1937, when she was three years old, Nancy developed a love for dance. She would become accomplished in tap, swing and ballroom and proved to be a most graceful and gifted ballerina. During high school, she was a celebrated ?Kiltie? Drum Majorette and baton twirler and led many parades in her hometown and at school assemblies. There is no doubt the she ranks as one of the best ?Kilties? that high school ever had.
Raised during World War II, Nancy developed a strong sense of patriotism and would always have a real affection for that era and for the American soldier. Nothing thrilled a pre-teen girl more than when her parents invited a soldier-on-leave to Sunday dinner at their home. Her girlhood was full of dancing, being with her chums, watching the most wonderful movies from the Golden Age of Hollywood, scrapbooking, going down to the train station to get the autographs of movie stars when they would come through on bond tours and doing her bit for the war effort as a Girl Scout. It was a tremendous time to grow up.
On October 1954, Nancy married David Melton and they began their next fifty years together. David would become a world-renowned artist and writer of over twenty books. The power-behind-the-man, Nancy not only raised their two children, Todd and Traci, but was her husband?s helper in his work, spending many hours typing his early manuscripts on a pre-computer age 1945 typewriter. In the 1960?s, Nancy and David would enter their son, Todd, into a strenuous in-home physical therapy program to help him with a developmental disability. An accounting of that struggle to get their son well manifested itself in David Melton?s 1968 book, TODD. Nancy would type and edit that book and its printing has helped many thousands of brain-injured children. Following childrearing years, Nancy would join her husband in building an unique publishing company, LANDMARK EDITIONS, INC., that publishes books both written and illustrated by children through its NATIONAL WRITTEN & ILLUSTRATED BY? AWARDS CONTEST FOR STUDENTS. This endeavor became their life?s work for nearly twenty years and continues on to this day. As its editor-in-chief, Nancy is most proud of her work with all the student winners of this contest and took great joy helping them make their stories the best they could be.
Surviving are her son, Todd David Melton, of Grandview, Missouri; her daughter, Teresa (Traci) Marguerite Melton-Symon, and her husband, Jon Goodall Symon, of Mission, KS; granddaughter, Mary; her beloved cats, Missy and Sasha; honorary son, Dav Pilkey, of Ohio; honorary daughters, Kelly Hanley-Truscinski, of Battleground, WA and Joanne Stollenwerk-Andrews of Raytown, MO; step-mother, Mary Melton of Springfield, MO; aunt, Pauline Pearson--Fowler, of Springfield, MO; niece, Amy Shannon-Moore and her husband, Nathan Moore, and their three sons -- Daniel, Hunter and Aaron Moore ? all of Byron Center, MI; niece, Kimberly Shannon-Nolt and her husband, Mark Nolt, and their three sons ? Mahlon, Pearson, and Owen ? all of Columbia, South Carolina; and her dear close friends, Donald and SueAnn Kluttz of Jefferson City, MO; and all dear relatives which are from the Thatch and Emmett lines of her maternal and paternal sides of her family; as well as all in-law relatives from the Symon Family. She is preceded in death by her husband of fifty years, David Gordon Melton; and her parents, Daniel Raymond Thatch and Ruby Marie Emmett-Thatch, and father- and mother-in-law, Denny Melton and Marguerite Pearson-Melton.
Memorial services will be held at 10:00 a.m., on Monday, August 13, 2007 at D.W. Newcomer?s Sons Overland Park Chapel, 8201 Metcalf Avenue, Overland Park, KS. A visitation will directly follow the service. A graveside service will take place at 11:00 a.m., on Tuesday, August 14, 2007, at the Maple Park Cemetery, Springfield, Missouri, where Nancy will be laid to rest by the side of her husband, David. Both services will be officiated by Reverend Robert Lee Hill of Community Christian Church of Kansas City, Missouri.
Memorials may be made in her name to The Institutes for the Achievement of Human Potential, at 8801 Stenton Avenue, Wyndmoor, PA 19118, 215-233-2050, where the Doman-Delacato Method of therapy has and continues to be a remarkable method of treatment for brain-injured children.
Born on March 7, 1934 to Daniel Raymond Thatch and Ruby Marie Emmett-Thatch, in Conway, Arkansas, Nancy moved with her parents a short time later to Springfield, MO where Nancy spent her childhood. She would begin her education at Phelps Grade School, where she would unknowingly meet her future husband, David Melton in kindergarten and would complete her primary schooling at Rountree Elementary. In 1947, she advanced from Jarrett Junior High School and, in 1949, received a diploma from Central High School. In 1952, Nancy earned a teaching degree from Southwest Missouri State University (now Missouri State University) in Springfield, MO.
As early as 1937, when she was three years old, Nancy developed a love for dance. She would become accomplished in tap, swing and ballroom and proved to be a most graceful and gifted ballerina. During high school, she was a celebrated ?Kiltie? Drum Majorette and baton twirler and led many parades in her hometown and at school assemblies. There is no doubt the she ranks as one of the best ?Kilties? that high school ever had.
Raised during World War II, Nancy developed a strong sense of patriotism and would always have a real affection for that era and for the American soldier. Nothing thrilled a pre-teen girl more than when her parents invited a soldier-on-leave to Sunday dinner at their home. Her girlhood was full of dancing, being with her chums, watching the most wonderful movies from the Golden Age of Hollywood, scrapbooking, going down to the train station to get the autographs of movie stars when they would come through on bond tours and doing her bit for the war effort as a Girl Scout. It was a tremendous time to grow up.
On October 1954, Nancy married David Melton and they began their next fifty years together. David would become a world-renowned artist and writer of over twenty books. The power-behind-the-man, Nancy not only raised their two children, Todd and Traci, but was her husband?s helper in his work, spending many hours typing his early manuscripts on a pre-computer age 1945 typewriter. In the 1960?s, Nancy and David would enter their son, Todd, into a strenuous in-home physical therapy program to help him with a developmental disability. An accounting of that struggle to get their son well manifested itself in David Melton?s 1968 book, TODD. Nancy would type and edit that book and its printing has helped many thousands of brain-injured children. Following childrearing years, Nancy would join her husband in building an unique publishing company, LANDMARK EDITIONS, INC., that publishes books both written and illustrated by children through its NATIONAL WRITTEN & ILLUSTRATED BY? AWARDS CONTEST FOR STUDENTS. This endeavor became their life?s work for nearly twenty years and continues on to this day. As its editor-in-chief, Nancy is most proud of her work with all the student winners of this contest and took great joy helping them make their stories the best they could be.
Surviving are her son, Todd David Melton, of Grandview, Missouri; her daughter, Teresa (Traci) Marguerite Melton-Symon, and her husband, Jon Goodall Symon, of Mission, KS; granddaughter, Mary; her beloved cats, Missy and Sasha; honorary son, Dav Pilkey, of Ohio; honorary daughters, Kelly Hanley-Truscinski, of Battleground, WA and Joanne Stollenwerk-Andrews of Raytown, MO; step-mother, Mary Melton of Springfield, MO; aunt, Pauline Pearson--Fowler, of Springfield, MO; niece, Amy Shannon-Moore and her husband, Nathan Moore, and their three sons -- Daniel, Hunter and Aaron Moore ? all of Byron Center, MI; niece, Kimberly Shannon-Nolt and her husband, Mark Nolt, and their three sons ? Mahlon, Pearson, and Owen ? all of Columbia, South Carolina; and her dear close friends, Donald and SueAnn Kluttz of Jefferson City, MO; and all dear relatives which are from the Thatch and Emmett lines of her maternal and paternal sides of her family; as well as all in-law relatives from the Symon Family. She is preceded in death by her husband of fifty years, David Gordon Melton; and her parents, Daniel Raymond Thatch and Ruby Marie Emmett-Thatch, and father- and mother-in-law, Denny Melton and Marguerite Pearson-Melton.
Memorial services will be held at 10:00 a.m., on Monday, August 13, 2007 at D.W. Newcomer?s Sons Overland Park Chapel, 8201 Metcalf Avenue, Overland Park, KS. A visitation will directly follow the service. A graveside service will take place at 11:00 a.m., on Tuesday, August 14, 2007, at the Maple Park Cemetery, Springfield, Missouri, where Nancy will be laid to rest by the side of her husband, David. Both services will be officiated by Reverend Robert Lee Hill of Community Christian Church of Kansas City, Missouri.
Memorials may be made in her name to The Institutes for the Achievement of Human Potential, at 8801 Stenton Avenue, Wyndmoor, PA 19118, 215-233-2050, where the Doman-Delacato Method of therapy has and continues to be a remarkable method of treatment for brain-injured children.
To order memorial trees or send flowers to the family in memory of Nancy Melton, please visit our flower store.