John J. Mellerski

John J. Mellerski, 73, of Carlisle, died at home on February 11, 2014.

Born December 8, 1940 in Buffalo, New York, John was the eldest of the twelve children of Casimer and Victoria (Blak) Mellerski. John graduated from Buffalo State University and taught elementary school in upstate New York for two years before earning a Masters degree in French at Binghamton University. He went on to earn the Ph.D. in Medieval French Literature at the University of Chicago, specializing in paleography. John taught French at Gettysburg and Dickinson Colleges before leaving academe and starting a new career in the restoration and managing of real estate in Carlisle. A lover of fiction, cinema, music and his cats, John also enjoyed many summer and winter vacations in France and traveling throughout Europe. He was devoted to sports—especially tennis, squash, and skiing and hiking in the Pyrenees--and was a lifelong fan of the New York Yankees. John was a volunteer for many years with Cumberland Valley Habitat for Humanity. We will always remember John's generosity and kindness, his wit and good humor, and his courage in fighting for so long the illness that finally claimed him.

Surviving are his loving wife, Nancy Caplan Mellerski; his brothers Tom (Dolores), Paul (Connie), Philip, Martin (Terri), and Larry (Jody); his sisters Mary (Steve) Jankowski, Rose Ann (Dominic) Cianciosa, and Phyllis (Jim) Dolan; also many nieces and nephews, grandnephews and grandnieces. John is predeceased by his brothers Joseph and Peter, and his sister Dorothy.

A visitation is planned at the Hoffman-Roth funeral home on Wednesday, February 19, 2014 from 4:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. There will be a celebration of John's life this spring in Buffalo. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to one of John's favorite charities: Doctors Without Borders, Oxfam America, or Greenpeace.

To sign the guest book visit www.hoffmanroth.com