Melville Moses Jr.

Mel was born on July 26, 1939, in Chicago to Maxine and Melville Moses Sr. He was raised in the Rogers Park area of Chicago and graduated from Senn High School. He received a bachelor’s degree in economics from Coe College in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, where he played baseball and met his wife, Janet. They were married in December 1961. Mel went to work in the family housewares business & settled in Chicago. After his father died suddenly the business was dissolved and he went to work for Standard International and moved the family to Frederick, MD. Eventually, in 1971 his skills in the housewares industry landed him a job with G & S Metal Products in Cleveland where he retired in 2003 after 30-plus years with the company.

Mel was a board member of Temple Emanu El in Orange and received the Emanu-Lite of the Year Award for his volunteer work in social action. He is credited with establishing the annual food drive and fostering partnerships with African American churches. He organized many political forums and established the Martin Luther King Jr. Award for local high school students. He served on The Jewish Education Center and the Jewish Federation Community Relations Committee in Cleveland.

Mel had a passion for baseball and, after retiring with Janet to Sarasota, attended spring training and minor league games as often as possible. He always remained a devoted Chicago Cubs fan. As a volunteer he worked with inner-city teenagers to improve their baseball skills so they could receive scholarships to college.

He loved living in Florida, but always looked forward to family and friends visiting in the winter. His hobbies were sports, movies, theatre, duplicate bridge, golf, flea markets and his grandchildren.

Mel is survived by his wife Janet Moses; children Ellen (Steve) Rosenblum of Chicago and Michael (Marci) Moses of Cleveland / Fort Lauderdale; grandchildren Mark and Sidney Rosenblum, Kelsi (Alec) Nyman, Zachary Moses and Tyler Moses; sister Marlee (Jerome) Gorchow of Chicago; sister-in-law Dorann (George) Gerstman of New York City; and many nieces, nephews and friends who were like family.

A graveside service will be held on Sunday, May 19, 2024 at 10:00 AM at Memorial Park Cemetery, 9900 Gross Point Road, Skokie, IL 60076.

Contributions welcomed in his memory to Cleveland Baseball Federation (cbfkids.org/donate) or Temple Sinai in Sarasota (templesinai-sarasota.org/).