Melvin Blair Leavitt's Obituary
Melvin Blair Leavitt, age 87, of Tacoma Washington passed away suddenly on January 12, 2016 at his home.
Melvin was born June 23, 1928 in Bellevue Idaho, the sixth child of ten children born to Orson Leon Leavitt and Eliza Blair Leavitt.
Melvin was a life-long member of the Church Of Jesus Christ Of Latter Day Saints,
He held many offices including all the offices of the Priesthood, First and Second Councilor and also Sunday School Superintendent. For many years he was known as Red and Irish by his friends and some family members. He was a very tough, hardnosed, adventurous, outward focused person with a giving heart and he would give up his last dollar and the shirt off his back if he saw someone who needed it.
At the age of sixteen, Melvin enlisted in the U. S. Navy, serving in Alaska, Pearl Harbor, Guam, the Philippines and Manila Bay during World War II. Looking back, he always wished that he had stayed in for career, but found a desire to explore and see the country. So with a few dollars in his pocket, he decided to do just that.
After finding his adventurous side, he used his GI Bill and took some flight training. Melvin then worked as a crop duster in Oregon’s farm belt and sprayed the fruit orchards in Washington, as well as flying cross-country with his mentor and brother, Devone. We hear he buzzed his childhood home a time or two where his parents were working in the yard, much to his mother’s fear, and his father’s pride. One time he even clipped the shovel that his father held up, with the landing gear of his plane. A well-loved story told time and time again at family reunions.
Melvin was then employed by Weyerhaeuser Lumber Company for ten years, moving up through the ranks from local dispatcher to Northwestern Field Supervisor. A love of travel attracted him to truck driving, which was his occupation for many years. This allowed him to continue his exploration of the country.
After retirement in 1990, Melvin found himself restless and needing to be busy. So at the age of 68, Melvin took on a whole new challenge and became the manager of a mobile home and RV park, and transformed into a beautiful gated community with many brand new manufactured homes, and kept the place looking sharp and feeling like home for many. He was very proud of his work there and enjoyed seeing the fruits of his labor. In 2008 he began enjoying his second retirement.
He was very good with his hands and was able to tear things down to bare bones, and rebuild them from the ground up to their former glory. Much like he did with the RV Park. He enjoyed many weekends in Quinault with his son Randy, teaching him and his grandson Danny how to rebuild travel trailers in Randy’s shop. It was great to see an old busted up trailer with a leaky roof, and rotting floor turn into something more beautiful than new. The bond created during that time transformed more than the travel trailer itself. It transformed the relationship between Melvin and his son, in spite of all of the tools that they may or may not have thrown at each other during creative differences.
He was an avid reader. He loved western novels, and his favorite author was Louis L’Amour. He had a list of the books he had read of his and we are pretty sure that if he hadn’t read them all, he was pretty close. He read the Tacoma News Tribune every single morning for at least the last 35 years. He also really loved western movies and his favorite actors were John Wayne, and Gene Autry.
His decline came swiftly in December. After a visit to the doctor where all test came back great, and Melvin improved wonderfully, it fooled us into thinking it was a false alarm. Although he lived a very full life, his passing was sudden and unexpected. He will be missed terribly by those who were closest to him. His presence had a way of making people feel safe and calm. He was a beloved father, grandfather, brother, uncle, friend and many other things to many other people. He was a hero and a legend to his daughter Erin, whose world revolved around her Daddy.
Melvin is survived by twin brothers Boyd and Lloyd Leavitt, Sister Ruth Boyd, and children Debbie Spicer, Norman Waddell, Loralie Stearns, Randy Leavitt, Cindy Reynvaan, Kathy Hatten, Shilo Conn, and Erin Leavitt, 18 grandchildren, and 19 great-grandchildren. He was preceded in death by brothers Devone, Norman, Esmond and Richard Leavitt, his sisters Beth Leavitt and Hazel Silveira and his two sons Melvin Jr. and Cecil Waddell.
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