Jim Melody

Harold James “Jim” Melody, 73, of Buckeye, AZ died after an illness on December 16, 2019. Born in Scranton, PA in 1946 to Harold and Genevieve (Utter) Melody he was raised in Lords Valley, PA and attended the Wallenpaupack Area School District. After graduating in 1964 he attended East Stroudsburg State College where he graduated with a bachelor’s degree in 1968. He returned to Wallenpaupack to start his education career as a history teacher. After earning a master’s degree in secondary administration from the University of Scranton, Jim went into education administration as assistant principal at Wallenpaupack Area Middle School, then became middle school principal at Delaware Valley School District. Jim completed his superintendent’s letter of eligibility at Lehigh University and his next position was assistant superintendent followed by superintendent, both at Delaware Valley. He retired from education in 1997 and moved to Arizona in 1999. He was involved in community activities such as Cub Scout leader, youth baseball coach and township zoning board member. A lifelong learner he pursued an additional master’s degree in counseling which he earned from the University of Phoenix in 2005. He worked as a counselor until his second and final retirement. An avid traveler who enjoyed visiting Europe and various parts of America, his most memorable trip was to his family’s ancestral homeland of Ireland. Numerous fishing trips to Canada provided many fond memories he cherished throughout his life. He was a collector of stories and had a mind like a steel trap. His retired life was spent gardening, enjoying the Arizona climate, devouring books, volunteering for senior medical transportation, researching his family’s genealogy, attending concerts and baseball games and drinking lots of fresh ground coffee. A dedicated Mets fan since their inception he was delighted to hear the Wilpons are negotiating the sale of the team. The greatest joy in his life was getting to be a grandfather to four wonderful young ladies. Jim is survived by his sons Brian of Hallstead, PA, Sean and his wife Amanda (Hauser), children Genevieve, Abigail and Evangeline of Raleigh, NC and Jason and Nicole (Phillips) and daughter Mackenzie of Goodyear, AZ. He is also survived by his sister and best friend Judy Ditondo and her husband Jim of Binghamton, NY, favorite nephew Kevin Ditondo of Gloversville NY, favorite niece Kari Ditondo and favorite great-niece Analeigh of Binghamton, NY, his two cats Josie and Cooper and many cousins. He was preceded in death by his parents and younger brother Jeffrey. Private services will be held at the family’s convenience. Donations in his honor can be made to your local food bank or animal shelter.