Jeff Melish

1947 - 2021

Melish, Jeff
Attorney Jeff Melish, 73, of Wakefield, R.I., passed away on July 1, 2021, the result of a tragic car collision. Jeff is survived by his wife of forty-two years, Joanne Pope Melish; his two elder brothers, John and Bill Melish; his five children, Rachel Zinkand, Jennifer Melish, Matthew Johnson, Tara Melish, and foster daughter Gabrielle Prochaska; and seven beloved grandchildren.
A highly respected civil rights, family law, and disability/children's rights attorney, Jeff was a passionate defender of social justice and civil liberties. An exemplar of selfless, hardworking, and people-centered commitment, he believed deeply in social duty to the community and active daily work to protect the dignity and rights of every human being.
These commitments were demonstrated not only in his daily legal practice on behalf of children and families, but in his over 30 years of reliable volunteer service as an ACLU attorney and years on the ACLU of R.I.'s Board of Directors and Executive Board.
Jeff also served many of the area's non-profits and social service agencies as on-call lawyer to help clients in urgent need of social service supports and legal aid. In addition to the RI ACLU, he long served on the boards of the Johnnycake Center, South County Community Action, and ProChange Behavior Systems, helping to expand access to safe affordable housing for the poor, adequate food and care for families, and inclusive education systems for all.
Through his church and social commitments, Jeff also supported many other charitable and social justice organizations. He worked with Habitat for Humanity in building low-cost homes, supported children's engagement programs, and was a member of the South Kingstown Immigration Task Force, serving instrumentally in efforts to enact R.I.'s first municipal ordinance protecting immigrants.
In all these commitments, Jeff drew from his family upbringing and faith. Born in Brooklyn, New York, on August 13, 1947, Jeff lived until age 11 in the rectory of the Holy Trinity Episcopal Church, where his grandfather, then father, served as rector. He was the son of the late Rev. William Howard Melish, a progressive proponent of the Social Gospel, and artist and social justice activist Mary Jane Melish. Both his parents were prominent civil rights/peace advocates who helped racially integrate Brooklyn Heights in the 1950s. His father was awarded the 1955 International Peace Prize for his work, and his mother's Brooklyn community center is said to have been an inspiration for West Side Story.
Jeff was also a committed athlete. He loved basketball and played daily for hours since the age of 5. His talents, competitiveness, and hard work as a boy in Brooklyn led him to play some of basketball's greats, including Kareem Abdul Jabar, and to earn a basketball scholarship to Furman College.
Politics, however, soon drew him back to New York. After taking a year and a half off for political organizing, he graduated from New York University in 1971 with a degree in Political Science and History. In 1972, after teaching for a year at the Brooklyn Friends School, he moved to South Kingstown with his first wife, Carole Costanza, with whom he had two daughters. In 1973, he earned an M.A. in Elementary Education from the University of Rhode Island and spent the next eight years teaching second and third grade at Moses Brown and Peace Dale Elementary Schools.
In 1979, Jeff married historian Joanne Pope Melish, his soul mate. Their home became a refuge for all those in need of a safe, welcoming, uncritical place. Jeff received his J.D. in 1984 from the New England School of Law. He practiced law in South Kingstown for 37 years, helping countless families through their difficulties and leaving an indelible mark on his community and all the people he touched, supported, and believed in.
A memorial service will be held August 28 at 2 p.m. at the Church of the Ascension, in Wakefield, RI. The family asks that, in lieu of flowers, any donations in memoriam be made to the R.I. ACLU or the Jonnycake Center for Hope in Peace Dale.