Santa Fe Living Treasures – Elder Stories

Mel attended a private school, the Harvard School for Boys. "He was always very involved in sports and with horses," Dicky said. "He was also a Golden Gloves boxerÑfortunately, he gave that up.

Rita Weil was fourteen when she met her husband-to-be. Mel married Rita in 1932. "It took her five years to catch him," says Dicky. Mel and Rita had two daughters, Jill and Nancy. Rita died tragically of a brain aneurysm, in 1956.

Mel married Dicky, Rita's sister, in 1957. "I've known Mel all my life," she says. "We were together only thirty-one years. I wish it could have been longer."

Mel worked in the printing business from 1936 to 1975 and was president of Bowers Printing Ink Company in Chicago. He served on the board of the National Association of Printing Ink Manufacturers. He was also a dog lover, and "started the first obedience class for dogs in Chicago".