MELVIN "Mel" SALWASSER

Mel Salwasser was born in Fresno, CA on February 6, 1923, to Fred and Elizabeth Lung Salwasser, and passed away at the age of 92, on May 17, 2015, at Sierra View Homes in Reedley, CA. Mel had one sister, Helen Mekel Curnow; and five brothers, Raymond, Everett, twin brother Mervin, Leslie and Donald. All have preceded him in death with the exception of his two younger brothers, Leslie and Donald. Mel attended Jefferson Elementary School in Fresno and graduated from Fresno Technical High School. In April of 1943, he was drafted into the United States Army. After basic training he was assigned to the United States Army Corps of Engineers and went through extensive training at Fort Leonard Wood, MO. Upon graduation, he became part of the 669th Pipeline Company and was shipped off to Burma where his job was working on the pipelines and pumps along the Ledo Road that provided aviation fuel to the Army Air Corp airbase at Kunming, China. Mel and his father, Fred Salwasser, started Dinuba Machine Works in June of 1949. In 1951, they moved from Dinuba, CA, to Reedley, CA, and renamed the company Salwasser Manufacturing Company. From meager beginnings, Salwasser Mfg grew into an internationally known manufacturer of automatic case and tray loading machinery. The company was sold to SWF Companies in 2000, and has since become a part of Thiele Technologies. Mel Salwasser was preceded in death by Margaret, his wife of 68 years; and his youngest son Brent. Mel Salwasser is survived by his son, Dennis Salwasser and wife Linda, of Reedley, CA; daughter, Deborah Hendrickson and husband Jed, of Santa Barbara, CA; granddaughters, Leann Schmit of Reedley, CA, and Lisa Dutcher and husband Tim of Reedley, CA; grandsons, Ryan Hendrickson and wife Jennifer, of Medicine Hat, Alberta Canada, Jeff Hendrickson of Portland, OR, and Paul Hendrickson and wife Nicole, of Vista, CA; and eight great-grandchildren. He is also survived by two brothers, Les Salwasser and wife Elfrieda, of Reedley, CA, and Don Salwasser, of Vancouver, WA. A Viewing for Mel will be held at Cairns Funeral Home on Thursday May 28, 2015, from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m. A Funeral Memorial Service will be at the Reedley Cemetery Pavilion on Friday, May 29, 2015, at 10:00 a.m. If you would like to donate to a charity in Mel's name, his family would like to suggest Wounded Warrior Project, 8880 Rio San Diego Drive, Suite 900, San Diego, CA 92108, www.support.woundedwarriorproject.org ; or the Alzheimer's Foundation of America, 322 Eighth Ave., 7th fl., New York, NY 10001, www.alzfdn.org .