Frank Melville ’45

Frank Melville died Dec. 5, 2007, at Noble Horizons in Salisbury, Conn., after a long
illness.

Frank prepared for Princeton at Pomfret and joined Tiger Inn. He left Princeton to join the Navy Air Force during World War II. After the war, he worked briefly as a book designer before joining the fledgling History Book Club, from which he retired as president in 1978.

Frank served as a trustee of Pomfret and of Sarah Lawrence College and was throughout his life a strong supporter of the American Civil Liberties Union. In 1980 Frank and his wife, the former Allen Whitely, moved from New Canaan to Norfolk, Conn.

Frank was the guiding spirit behind the Melville Charitable Trust, which is committed to alleviating homelessness in the United States, from its inception in 1990.

In addition to Allen, Frank is survived by four sons, Stephen, Lanning, Gregory, and Cameron; three grandchildren; and his younger brother, David. By sad coincidence, Frank's brother-in-law and classmate, Michael Whitley (Allen's brother), predeceased him by two months. The class expresses its sympathy to the family.