Harold A. Melser

He was born to Lorraine and Selma “Sally” (Munzel) Melser on June 26, 1942 in South Bend, IN. On August 1, 1965 married Carole Ruple and were blessed with two amazing children, John and Debbie. Carole left this earth on October 29, 1995. On June 13, 1997, Harold married Amy Marie (Huggins) Melser and they have shared a loving, faith-filled marriage for the past 22 years.

Harold will be greatly missed by his loving wife, Amy of Columbia, IL; his beloved son John & wife Victoria of Tuscon, AZ; dearly loved daughter Debbie of Oklahoma City, OK; his brother Norm and Cathy Melser, of Monaca, Pennsylvania; sister-in-law Lori & Darren Touchette of Millstadt, IL; brother-in-law Andy & Mary Huggins of Tamaroa, IL; his adoring nephews and nieces, and an unmeasurable number of precious friends.

Mr. Harold Melser was a man of great faith. He loved God, his family, and serving others. The Lord God was first and foremost in his life. When you met Harold, you instantly sensed his inner peace, confidence, acceptance of everyone and love for God. To serve God means to serve his people and Harold had the God-given gifts to successfully do exactly this in his life. Harold had a perpetual optimism that radiated. There was no stranger to him, only friends. His care, concern, and sincere interest in everyone he met along with his miraculous memory and astonishing plethora of knowledge allowed him to gain many servants for God as well as in his various ministries. He most certainly has a friend in every state on every continent of this great earth.

Serving was a large part of Harold’s life. His work in fundraising at Deaconess Foundation, Lutheran Church of Missouri Synod, Lutheran Hour Ministries, Saint Louis Science Center and Southern Illinois University – Edwardsville. After his retirement in 2014, he did not slow down, serving on the boards at Family Shield Ministries, Lutherans in Medical Missions (LIMM), Monroe County YMCA and he was elected ten days ago to the Association of Lutheran Mission Agencies (ALMA). He was active supporting Christian Friends of New Americans (CFNA). Most recently he was acknowledged as an “Outstanding St. Louisan” by St. Andrews Society. If he wasn’t volunteering you may find him cheering on his teams, including the Nebraska Cornhuskers “Go Huskers”, Ball State Cardinals, STL Cardinals & Blues, etc. He also loved time with his family and friends. You could see the excitement and smile when he told of the many adventures he and Amy experienced. Any time he spent with Amy, his children, nephews, nieces, extended family and friends was time well spent in Harold’s eyes.

We have been blessed to have Harold to help each of us fulfill God’s promise in us of being the best people we can be. Even if you didn’t know Harold, honor him by opening your heart to the possibility of accepting the Lord God as your Savior and allow yourself to be the person God made you to be.

Visitation will be Sunday, February 16, 2020 from 4-8pm at Hoffmeister South County Chapel. The funeral will be at The Lutheran Church of Webster Gardens on Monday, February 17 at 10am with a brief visitation from 9-10am.

In lieu of flowers the family requests for memorials to be made to Christian Friends of New Americans (CFNA), Family Shield Ministries or Lutherans in Medical Missions (LIMM).