Obituary - Melvin "Mel" Sidney Stanforth

Greenville, N.C. - Melvin "Mel" Sidney Stanforth, 81, passed away Sunday, November 4, 2018, of natural causes. He was under the care of the staff at the Jim & Betsy Bryan Hospice Home in Pittsboro.

A memorial service will be conducted Saturday at 10 a.m. in the fellowship hall at Greenville Church of God, 3105 S. Memorial Dr. Greenville, NC 27834. The family will receive friends following the service.

Mel grew up in Tuscaloosa, AL, and was a graduate of the University of Alabama, where he met his wife, Mary. While in both high school and college, Mel served in the ROTC. Following graduation from college, Mel served in the U.S. Navy, which took him and Mary to various places, including Key West, Barbados and Naples, Italy. Following his discharge from the Navy, they moved to Detroit, Michigan, where he received his Masters in Fine Arts from Wayne State. They settled in Greenville in 1969, where he worked at ECU for over 30 years as an art professor.

In his early years, he enjoyed playing the bass in a jazz band and continued to love music all his life. He produced a large collection of art as a painter, photographer and a lithographer. His art continually evolved over the years and his work was shown at the NC Museum of Art, Greenville Museum of Art and the Gray Gallery at ECU, and is cherished by friends and family. His career was celebrated at a retrospective show at The Imperial Centre for the Arts and Sciences in Rocky Mount.

He was preceded in death by his wife of 58 years, Mary Anna Box Stanforth, who passed away on February 11, 2018.

Mel is survived by his children, Cameron Parham of Havre, MT, and her children, Granville, Emily, and Burke Parham; Shannon Stanforth and wife, Nancy, of Apex, and their son, Sam Stanforth; and Patrick Stanforth of Chapel Hill and his children, Nicholas and Ian Stanforth; and his sister, Charlotte.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the Vidant Inpatient Hospice Center, C/O the Vidant Health Foundation, PO Box 8489, Greenville, NC 27835 or to SECU Jim & Betsy Bryan Hospice Home of UNC Healthcare, 100 Roundtree Way, Pittsboro, NC 27312.

Arrangements by Smith Funeral Service & Crematory, Greenville.

Online condolences may be expressed at https://www.smithfcs.com/.