Maurice Joseph Melancon

Maurice Joseph Melancon, known to his family simply as “T-Boy”, was a man of extraordinary courage, boundless joy, relentless hard work, and a love for life so big it could fill any room he walked into. He passed peacefully at the age of 96, leaving behind family and friends around the world who loved him deeply and a world made richer for every year he was in it.

He was born on September 7, 1930, in Abbeville, Louisiana, the firstborn of Maurice Theodore Melancon and Mathilde Leblanc. He came into the world along the bayous of rural Cajun country and recalled crossing log bridges as a boy just to reach his neighbors. As a man, he would spend his life crossing oceans.

At eighteen he enlisted in the United States Army. He served 5 years, 10 months, and 1 day, including the Battle of Chosin Reservoir, one of the most brutal engagements in the history of the American military. For seventeen days in temperatures that dropped to forty degrees below zero, with Chinese forces outnumbering UN troops four to one, Maurice fought. He came home with a Purple Heart and a Silver Star, the third highest combat decoration the United States Army can bestow, awarded for gallantry in action against an enemy of the United States. He wore that chapter of his life with quiet, unshakeable pride.

He came home from the Army and got to work. Over six decades he built two remarkable careers. The first was with Rowan Drilling Company, where he spent thirty-one years rising from roughneck on the rigs of Louisiana to Executive Vice President, with stops in more than thirty countries along the way. The second was with Eaton Corporation in Houston, where those who knew him still remember a man well into his eighties who opened up shop at four in the morning and didn't close until five at night. He retired at ninety.

It was through his work that Maurice found his second home. He lived in Indonesia for more than twenty years, and it was there that he met and married the love of his life, Martutik.

He lived 96 years to the fullest, and he said it best himself: "Life is what you yourself make of it. No more, no less." Those words were not just something he said. They were something he lived, every single day, in a way that made him one of the finest teachers any of us will ever know.

Maurice is carried forward in the hearts of his beloved wife Martutik, his children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, brothers and sisters-in-law, nieces, nephews, and countless friends. He does not leave us. He lives on in every one of us he touched.

Visitation and services will be held at Memorial Oaks Funeral Home. Visitation is Wednesday, September 30, 5:00-8:00 PM. Services are Thursday, October 1 at 9:30 AM with a Burial to follow at 11:00 AM at Forest Park Westheimer, 12800 Westheimer Rd, Houston, TX, 77077. Maurice was clear about one thing: he did not want a funeral. He wanted a celebration. We encourage you to dress in your favorite colors to celebrate the man who showed up for all of it.

In lieu of flowers, the family welcomes donations to the Wounded Warrior Project in his honor.