Eugene P. Mele

Eugene "Gene" Peter Salvatore Mele was the loving husband of the late Joanne Mary Mele (nee O'Connor). Gene was the son of Dominick and Violet (Volpe) Mele and the youngest sibling of Antonetta (George) Cappy, Joseph (Mary), Laura (Bob) Roode, Babe (George) Paetow, Lucy (Patrick) Fitzgerald, William (Laura) Mele, and Dominick (Bernice) Mele. Dad was a devoted father to Beth (Mike), Gene (Angela), Joseph, Brian (Natalie), Susan (Liz) and Sean (Annie). Papa or "Pops" was the proud grandfather of Michael, Sean (Victoria), Brendan (Michelle), Megan (Richie), Liam, Dante, Fiona, Violetta, Gia, Kiley, Enzo, Seamus, Max, and Luca, and loving step-papa to Harrison, McCartney, Starr, Morgan, Connor and Declan. Papa-Gene was an adoring great-grandfather to Mickey and Owen. "Larger than life" Uncle Gene was the fun uncle to a host of nieces and nephews whether he was being a comedian, doing magic tricks, playing practical jokes, telling fantastical stories or teasing them. He was a friend to everyone he met and a close friend to many, most especially his St. Linus and Siesta Key friends. People were drawn to Gene because he was genuine, kind and had the rare gift of making others feel seen, valued and welcomed.
Gene was a graduate of St. Michael Grammar School (1951), Leo High School (1955), and Lewis University (1959) where he majored in Business. He and Joanne married in 1960, settled in St. John Fisher and eventually moved to St. Linus where they raised their family. Gene started his career in the travel industry at Sabena Airlines, moved on to American Express and then to Madison Bank. In 1972, Gene took a bold step by opening Sundowner International Travel Corporation where he was "the key man" and a pioneer in the meeting planning industry, setting the standard for the industry. He retired from Sundowner in 2003 after traveling the world.
Gene was an avid competitor and he loved sports. He played football at Leo High School and Lewis University, he was in a bowling league at St. John Fisher, he played tennis and golf (and putted pretty well, considering he only had one eye), he coached grammar school football at St. Linus, he competed in fantasy football, he and Joanne played couple's bridge with the Linus group, he was a self-proclaimed expert at Scrabble (although he might have hidden a letter or two in his left hand from time to time), he played gin rummy with the retirees at Siesta Key and with Joanne (who usually beat him) and he and Joanne loved to play Rummy Cube. There were many nighttime games of poker, blackjack, tripoli, dice and bocce ball at Diamond Lake in between daytime boating, skiing and sailing.
Gene and Joanne were lucky to take many trips throughout the years with both family and friends. They both loved watching their children and grandchildren compete over the years - in dance, football, cheerleading, swim team, tennis, volleyball, basketball, theater, lacrosse, band, baseball, speech.you could always count on seeing Gene and Joanne in the stands or the audience cheering loudly and proudly.with Gene definitely offering his opinion to the refs or the umps who were calling the games.
Gene loved spending time with his family - whether it was at the family home in Oak Lawn, and later in Orland Park, on Siesta Key or at Diamond Lake. Those were the times when family became friends. That was what made him the happiest. "Family first" was the motto he lived by to Gene, family was not just an important thing it was everything.
The "Chairman's Last Meeting" will take place the weekend of November 21-22, 2025. Visitation will take place on Friday, November 21st from 3 to 8 pm at Curley Funeral Home. Family and friends will meet directly at Most Holy Redeemer Church at 11 am for the funeral mass on Saturday, November 22nd. Internment Private. In lieu of flowers, donations to Marist High School, https://www.marist.net/giving/ or St. Laurence High School, https://www.stlaurence.com/give/ would be appreciated. For Funeral info (708) 422-2700, or www.curleyfuneralhome.com.