Mr. Peter Brendan Melley, 85, of Gaithersburg, Maryland, passed away on Friday, September 4, 2026, at his residence. Born on November 13, 1940, in New York, New York, Pete was the only son of the late Peter Melley and Mary Kelly Melley both of County Tyrone, Ireland.
In 1943, his family moved to Forest Hills, N.Y., where the household was filled with music, laughter, and love. He enjoyed being regularly surrounded by numerous cousins, aunts and uncles and he also formed lifelong friendships resulting in countless neighborhood adventures.
Pete attended Our Lady Queen of Martyrs (1954) and Bishop Loughlin Memorial High School (1958). He then began his long career with the FBI while simultaneously earning his undergraduate degree in History at St. John’s University (1966). In 1963, he joined the U.S. Marine Corps and served in the U.S. Marine Corps Reserves until 1967 when he was appointed an FBI Special Agent.
He served in field offices in Detroit, Oakland, San Francisco and New York. He investigated bombings, bank fraud, jewelry heists, art theft and other complicated cases before working in the undercover unit until his retirement in 1998. For the next 25 years, he conducted background investigations for the FBI and other government agencies. Pete often said, “being an FBI agent is the greatest job in the world,” and no one enjoyed their job more. He would be the first to tell you that his greatest Bureau success could be found in the numerous friendships he established. He cherished these lifelong bonds with his “brothers” until the end.
While loving his job, Pete loved his family even more. His life changed forever one 1964 summer afternoon at a Staten Island, N.Y. party when he met Eileen Mary Corbett. They later married in 1968 and had a son, Peter, in 1970. Pete eventually became Pop-Pop to five grandchildren of whom he was immensely proud. He loved dining out and breakfast at the beach with Eileen, 1950’s rock ‘n’ roll, Marx Brothers comedies, fishing, WWII history and closely following the NY Giants, NY Knicks and St. John’s basketball. While this passion usually resulted in personal misery, he was granted one last glorious experience this summer as he shared with his family in celebrating a long overdue championship of his beloved Knickerbockers.
Pete is survived by his wife of 57 years, Eileen Mary Melley and their son, Peter J. Melley (Alison Heinhold Melley); as well as five grandchildren: Sara, Liam, Aidan, Kevin and Patrick.
A visitation will be held at DeVol Funeral Home, Gaithersburg, Maryland on Wednesday, September 16, 2026, from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. A Mass of Christian Burial will be offered at St. Rose of Lima Catholic Parish, 11701 Clopper Road, Gaithersburg, Maryland on Thursday, September 17, 2026, at 10 a.m. Interment will follow at the church cemetery.
In lieu of flowers, the family asks that memorial contributions be directed to JSSA (Jewish Social Service Agency) at JSSA.org to support their ongoing hospice care
