John Victor Melonas

A columbarium service for John Victor Melonas will be held on September 17th, at 11:00 am, at the National Veterans Cemetery in Montevallo, Al. A Celebration of Life Memorial will be held at on October 10, in Decatur, AL, from 1:00 - 4:00pm, at Cafe 113, for friends and family.

Mr. Melonas departed this life on August 11, 2021, at St. Vincent's East Hospital, in Trussville, AL., due to heart complications. For the last two years of his life, he resided at the Assisted Living Veterans Home in Pell City, AL.

He was born in Birmingham, AL on October 13, 1925, to the late Victor John Melonas and Evangeline Roupaka Melonas, who were immigrants from Greece. He was preceded in death by his sister, Katherine Melonas, his brother, James Melonas, his wife, Lucille Melonas, and his daughter, Vangela Melonas.

Mr. Melonas served in the Army, in World War II, and in the Navy, during the Korean War. Later, after graduating from the University of Alabama, he obtained his post-graduate degree from Auburn, and went on to fulfill his dream of working for NASA, where he will be remembered for a legacy of "firsts" during his 30 plus years of service there. While at NASA in Huntsville,AL., he helped design and build the Saturn V rocket that made world history as the first manned flight to the moon and back, in 1969. Considered a pioneer in aerospace engineering, his analytical ability to anticipate and problem-solve critical issues before, during and after the launch of NASA spaceships, shuttles and space stations, earned him the reputation of "genius" by many of his colleagues.

He is survived by his son, Michael John Melonas, his daughter, Stephanie Melonas Culver, his son, Victor John Melonas.his sister, Lula Gulas, of Mobile, AL., his nephew, Johnny Gulas, and niece, Debie Gulas Eagan. He has 5 grandchildren, and 13 great grandchildren.

His Grandchildren, Ivy Sandlin, Madeline Sandlin, Michael-John Melonas, Jr., Ben and Stephanie Higginbotham, Chris and Kim McGuire - and great grandchildren: Audrey Marullo, Zadie and Lizzie Melonas, Skylar and Brooklyn Higginbotham, Ethan, Mathew, and Mollie McGuire.

In lieu of flowers, feel free to share a memory by clicking the ADD A MEMORY link below or you can make a donation in John Melonas's honor to Tunnel for Towers (https://t2t.org/) or the Salvation Army (https://www.salvationarmyusa.org/usn/).