LIBERTY – Dr. J. Stanley Melching, 81, died Jan. 5, 2005, at his home. He was born March 4, 1923, in New York City, the son of Harry and Mildred (Unglenk) Melching. After serving the U.S. Army Air Corps during World War II, he attended college, receiving a B.S. and M.S. degrees from the University of Maine in 1954 and 1956, respectively. He completed his Ph.D. at Cornell University in 1961 in plant pathology. He joined the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), Field Crops and Animal Products Branch in Watseka, Ill., before joining the Crops Division, Chemical Corps, U.S. Army Biological Laboratories, Fort Detrick, Frederick, Md., in 1963. After the closure of the biological laboratories in 1969, he joined the USDA’s Plant Disease Research Laboratory (PDRL) at Fort Detrick. Dr. Melching retired from federal service after more than 26 years in 1985 and continued for many years thereafter as a collaborator with the USDA and PDRL at Fort Detrick. As a recognized international authority on quantitative instrumentation and quarantine containment, Dr. Melching has been consulted on problems relating to design, construction and operation of special instrumentation and facilities for safe research with exotic pathogens. After his retirement, he enjoyed spending winters in Florida and in 1992 returned to live in Maine for the summer months. He is survived by his beloved wife, Nancy I. Melching; daughter, Lee I. Melching, Montreal, Canada; son, J. Barry Melching, Saranac Lake, N.Y.; daughter-in-law, L. Diane Melching, Apex, N.C.; two granddaughters; three great- grandsons, Apex, N.C.; sister, Elizabeth K. Abbott, Ashmore, Australia; brother, Harry F. Melching Jr., Los Angeles, Calif.; and friend, Dodie Moore, Saranac Lake, N.Y. A memorial service will be held 2 p.m. Monday, Jan. 10, at the Crabiel-Riposta Funeral Home, 182 Waldo Ave., Belfast. Internment will be private at the convenience of the family. Those wishing to make memorial donations may do so to the Waldo County Home Health and Hospice, PO Box 407, Belfast, ME 04915. <
DR. J. STANLEY MELCHING
