Melvin R. Ossoff

Melvin Robert Ossoff of Peabody, MA, formerly of Swampscott, MA, passed from this life peacefully on September 28, 2024. Melvin was the second youngest of eight children born to Israel and Annie Ossoff, the devoted husband of Stella Ossoff (née Atoman, deceased), the loving father of Wendy Murray, Janet Parkinson (deceased), Donald Ossoff (deceased), and David Ossoff, the cherished Papa of Jordan Parkinson, the newly minted Great Papa of Brooks Parkinson, and the beloved companion of Dorothy Wallman.

He served our country bravely in World War II as a member of the Battery A 294th Field Artillery Observation Battalion, enlisting before his 18th birthday and serving in France and Germany. Melvin joined his brothers Michael and Hyman working in the leather tanning industry, first at Ossoff Leather Company in Peabody and later at Suncook Tanning Corporation of Pittsfield, N.H. Along with his brothers and other family members, Melvin created a second home for his family at Bow Lake and will always be remembered for his long swims to the offshore island.

Melvin was a lover of Boston sports, a proud family man, a star athlete who worked out consistently into his 90s, and a wonderful role model. He was exceptionally generous, and the world was a better place because he was in it.

The family will hold a service for Melvin at Stanetsky-Hymanson Memorial Chapel on Tuesday, October 1 at 11:00am, and he will be interred at Maple Hill Cemetery in Peabody, MA.

Expressions of sympathy in his memory can be made to Homes for our Troops (hfotusa.org).