Skiing the Alps, golfing, sailing off Cape Cod, attending theannual Boston Pops holiday concert, and cooking his specialty -chicken parmesan - were always special moments for Edward J. 'Skip'McMellen Jr. because he was in the company of friends and family.
As a teenage baseball player with the state finalist MedfordLegion team, Mr. McMellen, later a star center fielder at TuftsUniversity, would lead the postgame gathering to Buttrick's icecream parlor in Arlington.
'Skip was a doer, he was loyal, and he was always getting theboys together to have fun. He didn't like to take no for an answer,'recalled Mr. McMellen's Legion and college teammate Phil Shaw.
Both were members of the 1958 Tufts team coached by Bobby Meehanthat won the Greater Boston League championship.
Mr. McMellen, who retired in 1996 as an executive with DirectMarketing Guaranty Trust of Nashua and was a former governor atFalmouth Yacht Club, died of cancer Aug. 12 in McCarthy Care Centerin East Sandwich. Mr. McMellen, a resident of Falmouth and PalmCity, Fla., in recent years, was 75.
'He was a people person, and they were drawn to him because theyknew he cared about them,' said Mr. McMellen's wife of 42 years,Jayne (Arnold). She met Mr. McMellen through Dave Harrison, a formerthree-sport athlete at Tufts who was dating one of her roommateswhen she lived on Gloucester Street in Boston.
Al Nardini, a former Tufts football player who lived in the samebuilding at the time, was best man at Mr. McMellen's wedding and isgodfather to the McMellens' daughter, Elizabeth White of PowderSprings, Ga.
'Growing up, it seemed we'd go from one party to another withdad's best friends from college and their children,' said White. 'Weall skied together, went to Super Bowl parties, and that was becauseof his persistence and his personality.'
Meehan, who died earlier this year, Mr. McMellen, Harrison, andNardini were lifelong friends dating back to their college days.
All were members of the Jumbo Club, a group of former Tuftsathletes recognized for achievement in athletics and in theircareers who support the Medford institution's athletic programs.
'The four of us did everything together,' said Harrison, aretired Gloucester District Court judge. 'Skip was the catalyst whenwe were all single and also after we all married and raised ourfamilies. He always included his friends and co-workers at hisfamily gatherings, and he looked back very fondly on his days as aTufts athlete and his relationship with Bobby Meehan. Skip was theglue who held us together.
'In the business world, he helped State Street Bank transitionfrom just a bank in Massachusetts to the international corporationit is today,' said Harrison, a reference to Mr. McMellen's positionas a sales executive specializing in the bank's becoming a custodianfor mutual funds.
Walter Timilty, clerk of Norfolk County Superior Court, was Mr.McMellen's golfing buddy.
'He was absolutely the best I ever saw with the putter in hishand,' said Timilty. 'We played in many member-guest tournamentstogether, both at Woods Hole and Cape Cod Country Club. We never wonmuch, but he was a joy to know and to play with, just a fineindividual.'
Mr. McMellen's son, Edward III `Teddy' of Scituate, is assistantgolf professional at Oakley Country Club in Watertown.
'My father got me started in golf with some of the local clubpros and we played a lot of rounds together. He loved skiing andsailing but golf was his greatest passion,' said Mr. McMellen's son.'He was very close to his late friend, Bill Cushing, and theycompeted for many years in the Squirrels [member-guest] Tournamentat The Country Club [in Brookline] where Bill was a member.'
Mr. McMellen, who grew up in Medford, played baseball, hockey,and football at Malden Catholic High School, from which he graduatedin 1954. His Legion baseball teammates included Medford's BillMonbouquette, a former Boston Red Sox pitcher.
'Skip was my closest friend at Tufts and a [Delta Upsilon]fraternity brother,' said former Jumbos right fielder Dick Fortin.'He was a terrific fielder with speed and a good hitter, but what Iwill most remember him for is that I met my wife, Beth, because ofhim.
'During Christmas break our junior year, Skip got us a jobthrough his uncle working on the docks in Charlestown. One night,there were too many locals showing up for work, so they didn't needus. Skip said he knew where there was a party in Belmont, so we wentand that's where I met my future wife. Wherever I went with him,just about everyone knew his name and he knew theirs.'
After he graduated from Tufts in 1958 with a bachelor's degree ineconomics, Mr. McMellen began a sales career that also includedemployment with First Data in California and Telecheck in Needham.
He had a chance to turn professional in the Dodgers farm system,but chose the business world instead.
Mr. McMellen lived in Melrose after he was married and, afterreturning from California, lived in Westwood for 20 years, and thenin Quincy before moving to Falmouth.
He was a past member of Oakley Country Club and Norfolk Golf Cluband a current member at Monarch Country Club in Palm City and WoodsHole Golf Club in Falmouth.
He was also a member and secretary of the Falmouth Heights Men'sClub.
Mr. McMellen took up sailing as crew for his father-in-law andraced Beetle Cats and 210s out of the Falmouth Yacht Club. Inaddition to his numerous overseas skiing excursions, he rented acondo in North Conway, N.H., for many years.
'I came from a family of sailors,' said his wife, a certifiedpublic accountant from Wellesley who was the first female certifiedpublic accountant hired by a Big Eight accounting firm in Boston(the former Arthur Young & Co.). Her family sailed out of FalmouthYacht Club.
'I made it clear when we were married that he was required tocrew for us, and in turn, he made a skier out of me,' she said. 'Hewas a great sports fan, had season tickets to the Patriots, and hejust loved getting about a dozen tickets for many years for thefamily gathering to see the Holiday Pops.'
Mr. McMellen also leaves a sister, Anne Marie Carpenter ofOgunquit, Maine, and Port St. Lucie, Fla.; and four grandchildren.
A service has been held.
Globe correspondent Marvin Pave can be reached atmarvin.pave@rcn.com
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