Judith Dawn Melo

Judy was born in Hartford, and raised in East Hartford. Her parents had a very small home on Handle Court. The street was filled with the homes of their extended family, providing a neighborhood full of close relations.

She was the third of their daughters, with the only son born last. She started working tobacco at a very young age, and actually left school early to work and contribute to her family.

In 1962 she married Philip Melo, Jr. of South Windsor. They settled in East Hartford and had two children, Dawn in 1964 and Sandra in 1966. They divorced in 1976, and he predeceased her in 1997.

After she married and had her children, Judy decided to return to school and earned her GED. However, that GED was not enough education for her. She then enrolled in MCC and earned her Associates Degree in Security. It was during this period that she became active in the fledgling women’s movement. Through the Women’s Center at MCC, she met many women, becoming involved in the Greater Hartford Women’s community. Coffee houses, outreach programs, consciousness raising and domestic abuse awareness are only a few of the activities that she participated in during this time period. Women’s issues continued to be a focus of her attention, as her life continued to evolve. She founded WOFF, Women Over Forty and Friends, and this social group met regularly for several years before lapsing.

One of the elements that she loved about the women’s community was the music. She went to all different kinds of live music performances by women. From the Deadly Nightshade to Holly Near and the New Harmony Sisterhood Band she was interested in every kind of women-centric music.

One of the women’s music groups that she encountered was Another Octave-Connecticut Women’s Chorus. The first time she saw the group perform, she became a ‘fan-for-life’. Each season she would make a point to attend each of their performances in Manchester, Hartford, South Windsor and now West Hartford. Even as she slowed down her social outings, the chorus continued to be a source of enjoyment and social connections. In 2009, Dawn joined the chorus, and added another level of pleasure to her support of the chorus.

Judy kept working throughout her life. She worked as a member of the Security Staff at Veeder Root, the University of Hartford, and the Arbors in Manchester. In October 2009, after twenty+ years of service, she retired from the Town of Ellington School Custodial Staff.

She also had a number of hobbies: Woodworking, candle making, sewing, reading, doing puzzles of all kinds, cribbage and playing cards. She was an active supporter of UCONN women’s basketball. She followed the Blizzard and the Connecticut Sun. Her favorite television channel was WEDH, channel 24 our local PBS station, supporting them with donations. She also was a putterer, making small repairs and remaking many things so that they worked better. She was quite a ‘MacGuyverer’ even before the show.

Judy liked to travel. She had traveled to Florida, California, Maine and Vermont. Her two favorite places to visit were Colorado and Provincetown, Cape Cod. She tried to visit Colorado Springs about every two years. Two of her longtime friends lived in that area, Jane Lovell and Chuck Perkins. This past spring she visited there for about 3 weeks.

Her consistent destination was Provincetown. She had traveled there with a friend in the late seventies, and found a rich and diverse culture that greatly appealed to her. The amazing vistas and the quiet, beautiful beaches were a source of great pleasure to her. She decided to purchase timeshare weeks at a resort, Eastwood at Provincetown. This resort has become our family’s vacation home. She would spend 2-3 weeks each year, in non-peak times. This past June, we were all there together, Sandi, Angelena, Julianna, Dawn and Roger.

One of her (and our) favorite places to visit while in Provincetown was a restaurant named Paparazzi. We would make our vacation dinner plans around the days that the restaurant was open. It was a unique place, right on the beach in North Truro. One interior wall was adorned with an incredible wood cut scene of Cape Cod life, another wall was filled with windows open to the beach and the bay. From the ceiling there hung a great number of fishing related items. Oh yes, the food was incredibly good.

When Judy found out that the restaurant was going to be closing, she negotiated to purchase some décor items as souvenirs. The item that you might recall seeing is the restaurant’s ‘Welcome’ flag. It was covered with multicolored butterflies. After she completed a months-long restoration process to the flag, she proudly had it hung on the flag pole on our home. It hangs year round, except for basketball season, when the UCONN flag is required.

The other thing we did when in Provincetown was go to see Lenny Grandchamp. He was an entertainer, comedian, singer and songwriter. He and Judy met on one of her early visits to Provincetown. During our vacation, we would visit the Moors restaurant. We would go just before show time, and park ourselves in the lounge area for the duration of the evening. The early show was for those guests awaiting a table upstairs in the dining room, and it was family friendly observations, patter and music. The later show was more risqué, with songs and comedic commentary of a more adult nature. Better than any meal that the Moors served, was the nourishing entertainment and enrichment that Lenny provided. It was not unusual for us to see Lenny 3 of the 6 nights that we were there.

Lenny was talented, funny and smart, with a democratic, wry wit that was cordially and evenly applied to everyone present. Whether it was your very first visit or 101st visit, Lenny was happy to greet you and get to know you a bit. He had an incredible memory and once introduced, would be able to name every person, at every table in the room. Even if he had only met you once, he would remember your face, and quite likely remember your complete name as well. We always thought that the people in the room came to the Moors to see Lenny, the dining was incidental. You would regularly see guests returning to the lounge after their dinner to see more of Lenny’s show. When the Moors property was sold, Lenny’s show moved slightly farther up Cape to Montano’s in North Truro. He also regularly performed in Manchester, CT at the Adams Mill Restaurant.

Our family was fortunate that we were able to introduce Angelena and Julianna to Lenny before he passed. He was a beloved part of our extended family.

In 1999, Judy fell in love again. Angelena Maria came into our lives on August 31st, and the next phase of her life began, the ‘Grammy’ part. She delighted in having a baby as part of her life, and when Julianna Louisa arrived September 19th 2001, her grandchild team was completed.

Judy was pleased when Dawn brought Roger into our lives. She was quite welcoming and happy that Dawn had found someone to make her happy. He brought kindness, courtesy and patience into our lives and was a knowledgeable sounding board for her many business and tax concerns. They shared many common interests and she loved him and held him in very high regard.

Her dreams for a multi-generation family home were partly fulfilled in 2005. She and Dawn sold their separate homes and purchased a single family home in East Hartford, less than a mile from Sandi. When Sandi separated from her husband, she and the girls joined Judy and Dawn in that home.

Judy added to her family again in 2006, welcoming “adopted” daughter Amber into her heart and her family. Amber added a new dimension to her multi-generation family, bringing the energy of a young adult into the house again. Many a night Judy, Sandi, and Amber would sit in Judy’s room and have raucous debates about life, love, and family.

Judy leaves many other family members and friends behind, too numerous to mention. She loved and is loved by her many nieces and nephews and we have extended family residing in both Florida and Michigan.