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Melba Gianelloni Obituary

Melba Hildreth Dukes
Gianelloni
November 21, 1914-
November 9, 2012
Casselberry, FL- Melba Hildreth Dukes Gianelloni, 97, formerly of New Orleans, Louisiana, and Columbus and Phenix City, passed away in Casselberry, Florida, on Friday, November 9, 2012. She was born in 1914, in Birmingham, Alabama, and it is a family tradition that she was named after an opera singer, Nellie Melba. Her parents were Pearl Lucile Cotton and Edward Homer Hildreth of Enterprise, Alabama; her maternal grandparents were Eula Jane Belcher and Charlie Dale Cotton of Enterprise. The family lived several times in Columbus during the Depression, and her parents operated a diner on 38th Street. Melba had her own dance band, The Swingmasters, in Columbus during WWII, and was the 'drummer lady'. She played often to the troops stationed in nearby Ft. Benning, and on the Indian Princess riverboat, and had many stories to tell of those years. In 1945, she married Tommy Dukes. Tommy was known during the late 1930s and early 1940s as "Cowboy Tom", and had his own radio program. They lived in Columbus and Phenix City until the mid 1950s, when she and Tommy and their son Alan moved to New Orleans. After Tommy passed away in 1962, she studied art at Newcomb College, and became a well-known part of the New Orleans art scene, with her own art gallery, The Art Colony, on Chartres Street for twenty years. She mostly painted in the impasto style, and later called herself "an American Impressionist". She won a Best of Show at The Pirates Alley Show in 1994, and received a lifetime achievement award; she won another award at the World Trade Center there. She was a member of the New Orleans Art Association and showed at Garden shows with the Whimsies, and at Old Quarter Gallery. She also judged art shows at Biloxi Coliseum. In 1969, she married Max Gianelloni, who passed away in 1993. She was pre-deceased by her parents, and her brothers and sisters, Catherine, Charles, Wilson, Don, and baby sister Joanne; her two husbands, Tommy and Max, and her son Alan. She is survived by a sister and brother-in-law, Genelle and William Schafer, of Casselberry; many nieces and nephews. Graveside funeral services will be Wednesday, November 14, 2012, 1:00 p.m., at Lakeview Memory Gardens, Phenix City, AL., where she will be buried next to her first husband, Tommy Dukes.

Published by Columbus Ledger-Enquirer from Nov. 13 to Nov. 18, 2012.
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Memories and Condolences
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4 Entries

I love u and miss u muggie so damn much

Alan T Dukes

Family

November 4, 2023

I will always love and miss u.
Your grandson Alan T Dukes

Alan T Dukes

Family

March 16, 2023

I AM SORRY TO HEAR MELBA HAD PASSED AWAY. I TRULY THOUGHT SHE AND THOMAS AND ALAN WERE ALREADY GONE. I WOULD HAVE LOVED TO PAY MY RESPECTS.
WE LOST WILLIE DUKES (THOMAS'S SISTER A MONTH OR SO AGO.

SANDRA DUKES HINTON
\

November 19, 2012

I remember my visits to Aunt Melba's home as a child. It was always an exciting time. As her niece I have enjoyed her artwork; many beautiful scenes of the french quarters of New Orleans. She is missed much, but fulfilled her time and enjoyed every moment.

Joyce Hildreth-King

November 18, 2012

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