Melvin was a talented floral designer, who at one time owned his own business in Seattle, WA called The Enchanted Florist, before returning to Memphis after his father's death in 1987 to be near his mother. He was very involved in metaphysics and I credit him with helping to bring me back to a belief in the idea of "God/Goddess". He was devoted to the Metaphysical Meditations of Paramahansa Yogananda. Melvin had been diagnosed as HIV+ since 1985 and became very active in the HIV community after this helping to coordinate the AIDS Mastery Workshop, which was a successful outlet for those dealing with the illness or those, such as myself, who were struggling to help loved ones with HIV. He was devastated when his only brother, Clint, died from HIV in 1992. His health went downhill fast after this and he soon was diagnosed with full-blown HIV. He fought a valiant fight for almost two years before succumbing in the autumn of 1994 to complications from HIV. Melvin was not the type of person that one could have mixed feelings about; you either loved him or hated him. He was very outspoken, sometimes too much so, which cost him friends and family. He was cared for at St. Francis Hospital during his last illness by myself and our dear friend, the late Rhonda L. Schultz. He died at 1:13 a.m. with me at his bedside. Rhonda and I had him cremated and his ashes were placed in the Memorial Park Mausoleum niche which Melvin and I had purchased for our joint use the previous year.
Melvin was a talented floral designer, who at one time owned his own business in Seattle, WA called The Enchanted Florist, before returning to Memphis after his father's death in 1987 to be near his mother. He was very involved in metaphysics and I credit him with helping to bring me back to a belief in the idea of "God/Goddess". He was devoted to the Metaphysical Meditations of Paramahansa Yogananda. Melvin had been diagnosed as HIV+ since 1985 and became very active in the HIV community after this helping to coordinate the AIDS Mastery Workshop, which was a successful outlet for those dealing with the illness or those, such as myself, who were struggling to help loved ones with HIV. He was devastated when his only brother, Clint, died from HIV in 1992. His health went downhill fast after this and he soon was diagnosed with full-blown HIV. He fought a valiant fight for almost two years before succumbing in the autumn of 1994 to complications from HIV. Melvin was not the type of person that one could have mixed feelings about; you either loved him or hated him. He was very outspoken, sometimes too much so, which cost him friends and family. He was cared for at St. Francis Hospital during his last illness by myself and our dear friend, the late Rhonda L. Schultz. He died at 1:13 a.m. with me at his bedside. Rhonda and I had him cremated and his ashes were placed in the Memorial Park Mausoleum niche which Melvin and I had purchased for our joint use the previous year.
