Born outside San Francisco, Mel moved as a child to Michigan, where he lived with his mother, Marjorie, and brother, Roger. For a time, they stayed with his great-uncle, automotive pioneer Ransom E. Olds, and his wife Metta in Lansing. Mel later attended the University of Michigan, where he played tennis and co-founded the Ann Arbor Artist Guild. While there, a professor recognized his artistic talent and arranged a special opportunity for him to study with renowned muralist Diego Rivera.
After graduation, Mel traveled through Europe, served in the Air Force, and pursued graduate studies at Michigan State University. He began his advertising career in Chicago before spending nearly a decade in New York with Erwin Wasey and D’Arcy Advertising as a media and marketing executive. It was in New York that he met his wife, Priscilla—telling coworkers the very next day that he planned to marry her. She shared the same certainty, and they wed in 1966.
In 1968, Mel moved to Denver, where he became a partner in a leading advertising agency. In 1977, he relocated with his family to Portland, Maine, where he spent over 25 years working in advertising and eventually founded Warren Marketing Group.
Mel was deeply involved in his communities, serving on numerous boards including the Denver Symphony, Portland Community Counseling Center, Junior Achievement, Portland Symphony Orchestra, and the Maine Suzuki Association.
Mel was an avid fly fisherman, a passion that brought him lasting enjoyment throughout his life. He and Priscilla shared a love of travel and cherished time with family and friends. Mel was a devoted husband, a proud father to his daughters Sarah and Laura, and a loyal friend to many. In his later years, his greatest joy was spending time with his grandchildren.
He is survived by his beloved wife, Priscilla; daughters Sarah Metta Anderson and Laura Jean Warren; son-in-law Erik Anderson; and his three grandchildren, Sofia Anderson, Reid Anderson, and Hazel Warren-Higgins. He is also survived by his brother Roger and sister-in-law Kate of Portland, Oregon, and his nephew Chuck Warren, his wife Cindy, and their sons Dylan and Sam of Bend, Oregon.
