Patricia Melick

Our mother, Patricia Hall Melick, 88, passed away peacefully in her sleep on August 25, 2026. She is now in heaven with our dad, her beloved husband, Ralph, who preceded her in death on November 12, 2025. September 3, 2026, would have been their 66th wedding anniversary and we are certain that they will celebrate it with limitless love and joy now that they are back together.

Mom was born on January 24, 1938 to Robert and Dorothy Hall and grew up in Maplewood, NJ. Mom met Dad, the love of her life, at their alma mater, the University of Cincinnati. They were married shortly thereafter.

She was brilliant by all accounts (you do NOT want to play Jeopardy with her) and aspired to attend law school. She eschewed those aspirations in favor of starting family. When Mom and Dad were just starting out with little to show for it, she made very little seem like a lot. She prepared delicious meals from the most inexpensive items, repaired our clothing, hosted modest but oh-so-fun birthday parties, redecorated our tiny home, and much more. At one point, she had a part-time job sewing habits for nuns at a local monastery in her “free” time to earn extra money for us all.

She loved music and the arts. She was a gifted piano player and required us to take piano lessons for which we are now thankful. Both Mom and Dad were avid art collectors and patrons of local art, theater, and musical organizations. A clever and pointed writer, Mom authored a local newspaper column and wrote playscripts for, acted in, directed, and produced local amateur and professional theater for decades.

At a time when it was still frowned upon for women with young children to work, she took a full-time job as a real estate agent. For over 25 years she was a highly successful sales agent, effective manager, and sought-after corporate real estate sales trainer. She seamlessly blended her roles as mother and professional, excelling at both and providing an outstanding example for us to follow in our adult lives.

Mom was selfless in her dedication to her marriage and her children, and there was nothing more important to her than her family. Remaining are her sister, Virginia Glaiber; her four children, Anne Brumbaugh (Dave), Greg Melick (Heather), Sarah Freeman, and Lauren FitzGerald (Tim); her ten grand children, Jocelyn Brumbaugh (Austin Archer), Michael Melick, Jack Melick (Apoorva Vallampati), William Melick, Logan Melick, Sam Melick, Kyle Freeman, Kohlman Freeman, Max FitzGerald, and Colby FitzGerald; and her great grandchild, Quentin Archer to whom she “Amazoned” several toys during her last week of life.

We will share a private memorial service for Mom at our family plot in Philadelphia during which both her and Dad’s cremains will be interred. In lieu of flowers, we ask that you donate to St. Jude’s Children’s Hospitals Foundation, to which Mom generously contributed. https://www.stjude.org/give.html