Mel died Nov. 12, 2007, after a sudden flare-up of the lymphoma he had battled successfully for years. He was 82.

He prepared for Princeton at Hillside (N.J.) High School and served as a bombardier in the Army Air Corps during World War II. At Princeton he majored in English and was a member of the Debate Panel, the Student Employment Agency, and Prospect Club.

Mel entered Yale Law School immediately after graduation. After earning his law degree from Yale, he joined the Newark Law firm of Lorenz & Stamler, where he stayed until 1961. He also served as an assistant prosecutor and deputy attorney general. In 1961 he was appointed to the New Jersey Appellate Court, where he remained until his retirement as the appellate division presiding judge. He also served on the Supreme Court Committee on Judicial Education and was its chairman for three years. He was instrumental in establishing the New Jersey Judicial College in which the entire state judiciary participates annually.

Mel is survived by his wife, Bebe; his sons, Donal and Gordon; a daughter, Nancy Nitka; and four grandchildren. The class extends sincere sympathy to them on their loss of this fine public servant.

Undergraduate Class of 1949