Melvin C. "Mel" Clevenger

Melvin C. “Mel” Clevenger, 93, of Ottawa, Kansas, passed away Sunday, October 18, 2015, at the Ottawa Retirement Village. Funeral services will be held at 2:00 P.M., Wednesday, October 21, 2015, at Dengel & Son Mortuary. Family will meet with friends at 1:00 P.M., prior to services. Friends may pay their respects to Mr. Clevenger from 11:00 A.M. to 5:00 P.M., Tuesday, October 20, 2015, at the mortuary. Interment Highland Cemetery, Ottawa, with military honors by Fort Riley Honor Guard. Melvin was born Tuesday, September 26, 1922, on the family farm near the Harwood and Walker, Missouri communities. He was the second son of Leo and Ada (Steele) Clevenger. Growing up on the farm, living through the 1920s and the Depression Era, 1930s, he learned hunting, fishing and raising a garden were a way of life, not just a sport, a tradition he carried all his life. During his time on the farm, family and friends sometimes referred to him as ‘Buck’. How he earned that nickname remains another story along with many others his family have enjoyed. Melvin graduated with the Walker High School Class of 1941 and returned to the farm for a short time, before enlisting in the Army Air Forces in December 1942. As an armed forces member, Melvin was trained as an Airplane Mechanic Electrician then assigned to the 28th Photo Reconnaissance Squadron in the Pacific. They flew missions to photograph areas where invasions were to take place. They photographed well over 125 missions in the Marshall, Caroline, Marianas, Vulcan, Bonin and Ryukyu Islands with a plane full of cameras and no weapons. For his service, Sgt. Clevenger received the World War II Victory Medal with a bronze star, Good Conduct Medal, American Campaign Medal, and Asiatic Pacific Theater Medal with five bronze stars. He arrived home on the farm again December 15, 1945. This time on the farm was a little different for Melvin as he was introduced to the Walker Grocery Store proprietor’s daughter, Rosemary. On July 27, 1947, at the home of her parents in Ottawa, Kansas, Buck and Rosie were united in marriage. They raised three children and celebrated nearly 60 years of marriage. Melvin was always involved in retail sales, first with Gambles stores throughout Kansas and finally right here in Ottawa. After Gambles he sold for Mack Electric, Quin Furniture, Budge’s Hardware, was an inspector for the City of Ottawa and retired from Quin Furniture in 1983. Not content to sit down, he continued to hunt, fish, and grow a garden big enough to feed the whole neighborhood and friends. He served on the Community Foursquare Church and Assembly of God Church boards and was a member of the Trinity United Methodist Church. In between he found time to repair clocks, attend a sale or two, made sure all the kids had fishing rods and always had time for his family. Melvin is survived by two sons, Ron Clevenger and wife Linda of Ottawa and Mark Clevenger and wife Letitia also of Ottawa; daughter, Rebecca Raley and husband Mike of Ottawa; seven grandchildren, Angela Carpinella and husband Ron of Atlanta, Georgia, Jeff Clevenger and wife Kelly of Kansas City, Missouri, Jeremy Clevenger, Kyle Raley and wife Mary, Ryan Raley, Aaron Clevenger, and Samuel Clevenger all of Ottawa; three great-grandchildren, Lauren and Andrew Carpinella, Atlanta, Georgia, and Mitchell Clevenger of Parkville, Missouri. He is also survived by a sister, Geneva Ray of Kansas City. He was preceded in death by his parents; one brother and two sisters. Between 1991 and 1997 all of Melvin’s brothers and sisters and their spouses celebrated 50th wedding anniversaries; Kenneth and Ruby Clevenger, 1991, Buck and Rosie Clevenger, 1997, Jim and Maxine Berry, 1994, Charles and Dorothy Trower, 1996, and Everett and Geneva Ray, 1997. Melvin will be sadly missed by all those that knew him. The family suggests memorial contributions to Trinity United Methodist Church or Salvation Army c/o Dengel & Son Mortuary, 235 S. Hickory, Ottawa, Kansas 66067. Family and friends are encouraged to post their condolences and memories on Mel’s Tribute Wall at www.dengelmortuary.com