Melinda Louise Le Roy

Melinda Louise Perkins Le Roy, 81, passed away on Tuesday, September 23, 2025. Melinda was born on August 19, 1944, in Albany, N.Y. to Dr. James E. Perkins and Anna Francis Diehl Perkins. She grew up in Bronxville, N.Y., a suburb of New York City. She was preceded in death by her husband, Joseph P. Le Roy, and her parents. She is survived by her brother, William E. Perkins, M.D. and his wife Dana Kallmunzer Perkins; her niece, Lara Perkins and her husband, Teo Tokunow and grandnieces: Leona & Nomi; her step-son Christopher (Maeghan) and grandsons: Atticus and Colin; her step-daughter Jenna (Mattius) Valentine; her sister-in-law, Peg Le Roy (Fred Pockrandt).

Melinda attended Cornell School of Nursing, and later graduated from Columbia University and taught for the Regional Program for the Deaf in Portland, Oregon. Later, she was an itinerant teacher for the hearing impaired and learning disabled students.

She met her future husband, Joseph, in church. They were married on St. Patrick’s Day, March 17, 1990. On January 10, 1991, she was ordained a deacon in The Episcopal Church, and first served at All Saints, Portland, Oregon. She later served at St. Paul’s in Oregon City and briefly at St. James, Tigard, Oregon and St. Catherine’s in Nehalem, on the Oregon Coast.

When she retired in 1999, she and her husband moved to Manzanita on the Oregon Coast. In 2012, they moved to Asheville, North Carolina and to Givens Estates in 2017. They loved to travel, including a world tour from Singapore to China, India and Russia and travels to Italy, Ireland, and Spain. She loved classical music, concerts, theatre, and quilting. Melinda enjoyed life and living in the South.

A memorial service is scheduled for Monday, November 10, at 11:00 am at Calvary Episcopal Church, Fletcher, North Carolina. Cremation was handled by Garrett Funeral Home, Waynesville, North Carolina. A memorial fund is available for donations.