Melanie Jayne Retzke
December 31, 1952 ~ November 1, 2023
Born in:
Columbus, OH
Resided in:
Leicester, NC
Melanie Jayne Retzke, 70, of Leicester, NC, passed away on Wednesday, November 1, 2023, at Mission Hospital in Asheville, NC. She was born on December 31, 1952, in Columbus, OH, to the late Franklin Albert and Dorothey Viola Retzke.
Mel was a proud graduate of Virginia Tech University, where she played basketball, and was an avid supporter of Ohio State football. Mel was a talented musician, playing several instruments and singing with the Reuter Center Singers at the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at UNCA, where she also volunteered and took continuing education classes. She was well-traveled in Europe, Canada, and all 50 US states, and she enjoyed photographing her travels as well as the beloved mountains of her adopted state.
Mel is survived by her brother, David Retzke (Terri), her sister, Miriam Retzke, niece, Stephanie Retzke (Travis), and grandniece, Madelynn, as well as many cousins and friends.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Melanie J. Retzke Scholarship Fund at the Community Foundation of Western North Carolina or the Pampered Pets in Leicester, NC.
Groce Funeral Home on Tunnel Road is assisting the family.
Services
Funeral Home Assisting The Family:
Groce Funeral Home on Tunnel Road
856 Tunnel Rd.
Asheville, NC 28805
(828)299-4416
http://www.grocefuneralhome.com
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Kurt and Ann
We will miss Mel in our neighborhood. She was friendly and kind to all of us. Sending our condolences to her family.
Mel and I had a lot of laughs together! We drove together to Ollie choir rehearsals and had a chance to do a lot of sharing! We will miss you Mel!
Susan Tarkenton
Mel was a valued OLLI member and volunteer who asked great questions and always pitched in to help. We will miss her intelligence and humor.
Mel was one of the first people we met when moving to NC. She was a lovely person, a talented photographer and a wonderful dog mom. She will be missed in our community. 💕
Mel was thoughtful, kind, intelligent and funny! As a member of the Religion and Philosophy Committee at OLLI, she always considered and evaluated her opinion before she spoke, which means that she didn’t always say a lot, but everyone listened when she did speak. We will all miss her and her wisdom.
“Sometimes, said Pooh, the smallest things take up the most room in your heart”
I still cannot believe my one of most cherished friends no longer exist on this earthly plane. Mel and I have been friends since the mid-1970s. When we met, I was an under graduate and she was graduate student. We became fast friends.
This beautiful woman was a friend in adventures, a traveler on spiritual paths, a confidant of the highest order. She was a talented musician, educator, athlete, and like me a computer nerd. A lover of history, sports, music, and photography. We would have fierce debates about anything and everything. Sometimes just for fun. We would chat about how our life paths after college were so similar.
She was someone I would call and we would watch the Grammy’s or a sporting event together. When we lived near each other we could stop over with some adult beverages and solve life’s problems until the wee hours of the morning. We loved each other as friends of the soul.
I shall miss calling you on New Years Eve to wish a happy birthday, talking for hours. I shall miss your call on my birthday as well.
I will think of you every time Ohio State or Virginia Tech plays anything. The Packers well… we did have our differences. I shall miss seeing the springtigger email pop up.
There is a Native American belief that energy never dies, it just changes form. I shall look for you in as I walk with my camera in nature where I am sure I will find you.
I have and shall always think of you when I hear anything Pooh and now, I will learn how to play Return to Pooh Corner by Kenny Logins with you as my inspiration. Gosh, how I will miss hearing you sing that song once more.
In the last few years, we ended our calls with “I love you”. I love you my soul friend. I shall profoundly miss you.
“You’d be surprised there’s so much to be done
Count all the bees in the hive
Chase all the clouds from the sky
Back to the days of Christopher Robin and Pooh
It’s hard to explain how a few precious things
Seem to follow throughout all our lives”
I am so shocked and sorry to hear of Mel’s passing. We spent fun time at Oriole’s baseball games with her sister Mim. She was a fun loving happy person and the world will miss her happy nature.
I was just ready to send you a Christmas card, I am so sorry to hear of your passing – you are a great woman and longtime friend from NIH – I know that you were loved very much as you are a very loving person –
I’m so sorry to hear of Mel’s passing. I’ll miss the wonderful birthday cards she sends me every year! A kind and intelligent soul.
I have such great memories of Mel from her time at PPD. Such a bright and caring person. She will be missed.
Mel was one of the first people I met at PPD. She treated me like an old friend from day one.
We had so many great conversations while commuting to work together, taking breaks in her office, over lunches, and too many other times to remember. Even after she moved to Asheville, we continued to lunch together over video calls.
She also loved her dogs just as if they were her children. We bonded over that too, as I felt the same way about my own.
She was such a genuinely good person. You’re lucky to meet someone like her, lucky to be her friend.
Thank you Mel for being my friend..