Robert Harrison Mellen Ph.D.

Robert Harrison Mellen, Ph.D., 83, of Old Lyme, died on Saturday, (January 11, 2003), at the Connecticut Hospice in Branford. He was born on November 12, 1919, in New Haven, the son of Harrison Morton and Teckla Christine Johnson Mellen. He married the former Mary Ellen Lockhart in Charles Town, WV on September 5, 1942. He was raised in Middletown and graduated in 1937 from Middletown High School. He graduated Wesleyan University in 1941. He later went on to receive his Master's and Ph.D. in Physics from the University of Connecticut. Dr. Mellen was a veteran of the U.S. Navy serving during World War II. He operated test equipment at the first nuclear test site at Bikini Island. He also was involved in SONAR Development Research in the Arctic while working out of the Naval Research Laboratory in Washington, DC. He came to reside in Old Lyme in 1946. He was employed as a physicist at the Naval Underwater Systems Center in New London retiring in 1980. He was currently a physicist with Kildare in New London. He was a member of the Old Lyme Masonic Lodge and was a longtime HAM Radio enthusiast. In addition to his wife, he is survived by his daughters, Kristine Mellen Cole of San Diego, CA and Elizabeth Ann Mellen of Old Saybrook; his sister, Shirley Mellen Ellis of Cromwell; his grandchildren, Katherine Cole Fisher of East Lyme; Michael David Cole of Lyme and Bernard "Chip" Cole, III of Norwich, VT; his great grandchildren, Stella Louise Fisher, Benjamin Connor and Molly MacLaren Cole; nieces and nephews. A memorial service will be held at later date. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to Connecticut Hospice, 100 Double Beach Rd., Branford, CT 06405. The Fulton-Theroux Funeral Home, Old Lyme is handling arrangements.