Oliver C. Mellen

Oliver C. Mellen, of Wethersfield, husband of Constance (Kelley) Mellen, passed away on December 3, 2016. Born February 28, 1915 in Hartford, he was the son of the late Frank G. and Helen (Chapman) Mellen. A graduate of Hartford Public High School as salutatorian and of Colby College as a member of Phi Beta Kappa, he went on to earn his M.A. at Trinity College. He enjoyed a year’s study at the University of Bordeaux, France followed by a bicycle tour of the country in preparation for his teaching career. He taught first at The Wheeler School in North Stonington, then at Bethel High School in Bethel, and ultimately at Wethersfield High School, where he and his wife were part of the team that produced many spring productions during the 1960s and 1970’s. He retired in 1983 after teaching for forty years. His teaching career was interrupted by his military service from 1941 to 1945. He served in the 43rd Division of the National Guard, which took him to the South Pacific. He received a Purple Heart for wounds received in the Solomon Islands. He returned to teach at Bethel High School. He served as a deacon and sang in the choir, first at the Rocky Hill Congregational Church and then at First Church of Christ in Wethersfield, where he also rang hand bells in two choirs. He loved music. He brought his clear, resonant, bass voice to the role of Rochambeau in both church and town colonial reenactments. He served on the Wethersfield Committee for Culture and the Arts, the Wethersfield Beautification Trust, and on the Board of First Church Village. He was a docent at the Wethersfield Cove Warehouse, participated in and chaired the Wethersfield Crop Walk, volunteered at Hartford Hospital, and enjoyed his membership with the retired men’s group ROOF. Besides his wife, Connie of 60 years, he is survived by two daughters and sons-in-law: Nancy and Brian Murphy of Glastonbury, and Elaine and Steve Carroll of Andover, and by grandsons Jamie Carroll and wife Jess of Naperville, IL, and Tom Carroll of West Hartford, and granddaughter Dana Murphy of Glastonbury. He was predeceased by brothers Frank R. Mellen of Wethersfield and John A. Mellen of Simsbury and sister Priscilla M. Gustafson of South Harpswell, Maine. The family extends its heartfelt appreciation to the entire staff at Brookdale Buckingham for their compassion, dedication, and care over the last three years. A memorial service will be held on Saturday December 10, 2016 at 2 p.m. at the First Church of Christ, 250 Main Street, Wethersfield, CT. There will be no calling hours. Burial will be private. D’Esopo Funeral Chapel, Wethersfield, CT is assisting the family with the arrangements. In lieu of flowers memorial donations may be made to the First Church of Christ, attention: Music Department, Wethersfield CT. For online expressions of sympathy to the family, please visit www.desopo.com.