Patricia Neal Melvin's Obituary
Patricia Neal Melvin, of Germantown, TN passed away peacefully in her sleep on Thanksgiving Day November 24,2022 after a long bout with Dementia. She was 90.
Patricia or “Pat” as she was known, was born on June 21,1932 to Aline and Arnold Neal in Mount Hope, West Virginia. She spent her childhood years in Mullens, West Virginia and was a true “Coal Miner’s Daughter” who had a feisty and adventuresome spirit. During those early years, she became adept at “hopping Coal trains” in the coal country of southern West Virginia. She was also an accomplished pianist at a young age as well as a voracious reader throughout her life.
She graduated with Honors from Mullens High School and later was inducted into the Mullens Area Hall of Fame in 1991. After High School she attended Sullins College, now King’s College, in Bristol, Virginia where she was co-editor of the Sullins yearbook. She graduated from Sullins in 1951 with an associate degree in Secretarial Science. After graduating from Sullins she went on to work as a secretary for the Allied Chemical Corporation in Tralee, West Virginia for nine years.
In 1960 she continued to thrive professionally and got into the Savings and Loan banking business. She went on to work for three different Savings & Loan banks in Virginia over the course of 20 years. She was a Bank Officer at Peninsula Savings and Loan in Newport News, Virginia and then became a Branch Manager at Heritage Savings and Loan in Richmond, Virginia. Pat Melvin was a “Trail Blazer” and held leadership positions as a Bank officer and Branch Manager in the male-dominated banking industry of the 1960’s and 1970’s.
In 1972 she married her second husband the late William P. “Bill” Melvin of Greensboro, North Carolina. They were married for 48 years until Bill’s passing in October,2020.
She and Bill moved the family to Germantown, Tennessee in 1979 where she quickly got involved in the Germantown community as a member of the Germantown Welcome Wagon becoming its President in 1980.
Feeling the need to get back into the working world, she went back to work as a Sales Representative/Manager for My Secretary in Germantown, Tennessee in 1981. She later purchased the My Secretary business in 1987 and became its owner. My Secretary provided temporary secretarial and clerical workers to companies in the Mid-South region. The company also provided in-house secretarial assistance, answering services, and scheduling services for different medical groups in the Memphis area. My Secretary had four full-time in-house employees and over 100 temporaries.
She continued to become more involved in the Germantown community serving as President and Board member of the Germantown Chamber of Commerce. She loved the city of Germantown and was an influential part of promoting Germantown’s small businesses in Shelby County during her career as owner of My Secretary. In addition, she also served as the President of the Shelby County Republican Women as well as the Republican Women of Purpose.
She is preceded in death by her husband William P. “Bill” Melvin, her mother Aline E. Neal, her father Arnold Neal, and her two brothers Teddy and Arnold Neal Jr.
She is survived by her son, Phillip A. Richards of Memphis, TN and her two grand-sons Tyler J Richards and Bryce N. Richards both of Memphis, TN.
She was a life-long Methodist and proud member of Emmanuel United Methodist church in Memphis, TN for 43 years, a life-time member of the Germantown Women’s club, and a true champion for the city of Germantown. She touched the lives of so many people and will truly be missed. Here’s to you Pat Melvin, we wish you God speed!
Services will be held at Memorial Park Funeral Home and Cemetery 5668 Poplar Avenue at 11:00am in Memphis, TN on Saturday December 10, 2022. A visitation will be held at 10:00am in the Riverside Chapel at Memorial Park. In lieu of flowers the family requests donations be made to the Emmanuel United Methodist Church general fund or the Alzheimer’s Association.
To view services online, please click on link below.
http://webcast.funeralvue.com/events/viewer/82003/hash:A5E6334282E75B85
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