PAUL W. MELONE

Paul W. Melone, 96, died August 12, 2008 at his home in Tappan. Born in Philadelphia, he studied at the Philadelphia Museum School of Art then moved to New York joining the art departments of the newspaper PM, then Newsweek for 28 years. In WWII, assigned to the 783rd MP battalion, he guarded POW's, landed on Utah beach, fought in the Battle of the Bulge and worked on the Stars and Stripes in Paris. He married Betty Furry in 1946 and moved to Tappan as one of the founders of the Hickory Hill Cooperative housing development. Serving as president of the Tappan Civic Association and later the Tappantown Historical Society, he was instrumental in starting the Tappan Library, and developing Tappan Memorial Park while producing most of their notices, programs and guides using his illustrations and maps. He designed their book Tappan 300 Years and several books of the Rockland Historical Society while serving on their publications committee. He purchased and restored two historic buildings in Tappan, a home and a shop, The Stable, which he ran and then sold to the library. After retiring he and Betty served in the Peace Corps in Fiji where he designed educational and government publications. He returned to be an original resident of Hickory Hill II, a condominium community for seniors. He is survived by his sister Virginia Morris in Pennsylvania, sons William in Rhode Island and Thomas in North Carolina and grand children Tony, Paul, Donna, and Clay. Funeral Saturday August 23rd at 10:00AM at Our Lady of the Sacred Heart Church, Tappan and memorial reception and art exhibit 12:00n at 76 House, Main St., Tappan. Burial and reception August 30th at Holy Cross Cemetery, Yeadon, Pennsylvania. In lieu of flowers the family suggests donations to the Tappan Library. MORITZ FUNERAL HOME 98 Route 303 South Tappan, NY 845-359-0890