Nick was born in San Francisco, California, and was raised along with his 5 siblings in Norwalk, California. He tested out of High School, graduating before his Junior year. He attended UCLA, University of Colorado at Boulder, and San Jose State, where he received degrees in Computer Science and Languages. He lived and worked in San Francisco for many years prior to returning to Riverside, California in the 1990’s to help care for his parents.
Nick lived a rich and abundant life in Riverside, developing a strong interest in local culture and civic engagement. He helped found several organizations including Riverside Food Co-op, a founding member in 2013, established the Riverside Garden Council and creating its non-profit status, and helped write the document to establish the Riverside Food Systems Alliance in 2014. He was also an active member of such organizations as CalRecycle Riverside Food Rescue, Eastside Heal Zone, and Wood Streets Green Team. His roles were many and included Board Member of Riverside Food Co-op and Riverside Food Systems Alliance, grant writer, webmaster for social media, graphic designer, designing booths, handouts, and more.
But for him, his most important work was the Northside Project for which he wrote the successful grant for funding to purchase property, and lobbied hard for a Community Garden as part of the site, including drumming up neighborhood support. It is the best testament to represent who Nick was, and will be the future site of Nick’s Garden, which the City of Riverside, through the Riverside Food Systems Alliance, has conferred to his memory.
Nick is survived by his parents, Marcelo and Susana Melquiades; sisters Emy Kaplan, Maria Burnett and Susan Morehouse; brothers-in-law David Morehouse and Bob Burnett; nieces Bianca Garfinkel, Sasha Fraytet, Jessica Owen and Bonnie Burnett; nephews Tony, Sam, and Marco Morehouse; great-nephew Tristan Fraytet; and great-niece Mia Owen. He is pre-deceased by brothers Jaime and Hellary Melquiades.
