ATTORNEY PATRICK J. MELLODY

Attorney Patrick J. Mellody, 59, of the Green Ridge section of Scranton, died Thursday evening at home. His wife is the former Patricia Lynch.

Born in Scranton, son of Rita Lestrange Mellody, Scranton, and the late Lackawanna County Commissioner Patrick J. Mellody, he was a 1962 graduate of St. Paul's High School. He earned his bachelor of science degree from the University of Scranton in 1966 and his juris doctor from Columbus School of Law at Catholic University of America, Washington, D.C., in 1974. He received American Jurisprudence Awards for academic excellence.

Attorney Mellody maintained a practice in Scranton since 1974. He was admitted to practice in the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit and the U.S. Supreme Court.

Attorney Mellody had served as chairman of the Lackawanna County Democratic Committee since 1984. He was also a member of the executive committee of the Pennsylvania State Democratic Committee and was elected delegate to the 1984, 1996 and 2000 Democratic National Conventions. A graduate of Officer Candidate School, he served as a 1st lieutenant in the Army from 1966 to 1969.

He was a member of numerous civic, educational, professional and business associations, including serving as chairman of the Keystone Chapter of the American Heart Association and on the board of directors of the Pennsylvania State Affiliate of the American Heart Association. He served on the executive committee of the Friendly Sons of St. Patrick and as vice president and a member of the executive board of the Forest Lakes Council, Boy Scouts of America. An Eagle Scout, he was a member of the Eagle Scout Association of the Boy Scouts of America.

He was a member of St. Clare's Church, Scranton; the advisory board of directors of the Green Ridge branch of Penn Security Bank and Trust Co., Scranton; the Irish-American Men's Association, the Sierra Club, the Knights of Columbus Council 280, Scranton; the Green Ridge Business Association, St. Paul's Booster Club and the executive board of the Italian-American Democratic League.

Surviving in addition to his widow and mother are three daughters, Kathleen, Arlington, Va., and Mara and Meredith; both of Scranton; two sons, Patrick, Scranton, and Stephen, Arlington, Va.; a sister, Mary Horan, Pleasant Valley, N.Y.; two brothers, Charles Mellody, Bethesda, Md., and Jerome Mellody, Rockville, Md.; and several nieces and nephews.

He was also preceded in death by a brother, James Francis Mellody, who died in 1989.