Hargrove Melanie

Melanie Hargrove, of Charlottesville, died on November 13, 2017. She was born, Melanie Ann Franklin, on August 20, 1941, in Youngstown, Ohio. At age 3, she and her family moved to Hollywood, California. They later settled in Monrovia in the San Gabriel Valley. She spent her childhood on the Pacific beaches and the Santa Anita Race Track. On August 20, 1960, she married her only love, Johnny Hargrove, a young sailor from Louisiana. About 10 months later, their firstborn, Michael, was born. When taken to Louisiana, she was appalled by the horrors of the Jim Crow South. She wanted to drink from the "colored" water fountains in protest. After having an AfricanAmerican couple over for dinner, the Ku Klux Klan burned a cross in their yard. Her sense of justice and love of righteousness, moved her to embrace the truth of the Holy Scriptures. Melanie and Johnny, became Jehovah's Witnesses, and were baptized together on December 29, 1962. In 1964, their son, Chris, was born. Most important to Melanie was her love for Jehovah God, and her zeal for the ministry. She treasured the Bible's beautiful hope of a paradise earth in which righteousness will prevail, and spent a lifetime sharing that hope with her neighbors, where she called home, in California, Louisiana, Arkansas, Colorado, and Virginia. She was preceded in death by her beloved husband of 45 years. She is survived by her two sons, four grandchildren, two siblings, and four nieces. A memorial service will be held Saturday, December 9, 2017, 2 p.m., at the Kingdom Hall of Jehovah's Witnesses, 665 Old Lynchburg Rd., Charlottesville, Va.