Linda Aileen Melick

Linda Alieen (Nyman) Melick

October 08,1947 – March 09, 2026

Married August 15, 1981, Carmel, CA, to Robert J. Melick

Baptized November 7, 1993, by Pastor Andrew L. Cockran, Antioch, CA

Early life:

Lind was born to Aileen and John Nyman, on October 8, 1947, at St. Francis Hospital, S.F. She had three older brothers: Richard Hoff (half-brother), Martin, and Gilbert; and one younger sister, Barbara. They lived at 783 Madrid St. S.F. After her parents separated, they moved to Blythdale Avenue, at #75 (1949-1964), #77 (1963-1964), and #71 (1966-1970) in the Sunnydale Housing Project. She remembered living one block away from the Cow Palace was really an adventure because so many events were held there, such as: J.F. Kennedy campaign event which they attended, but watched from the hilltop during Eisenhower's, and received "I like Ike" pins to wear. The Cow Palace held rodeo events and sports and boating shows- they even watched the circus when it came to town as it paraded up Geneva Ave. from the train station. They would sneak into the Cow Palace with her brothers at night to make the rounds with the night watchmen- She would slide in stocking feet across the freshly polished floors set up for basketball games, while her brothers played basketball. And she couldn't forget the roller derby, where their neighbor, Carol "Peanuts" Meyers, skated for the Bay Area Bombers and, of course, as fans they would watch her compete- the sport was very popular at the time!

She started High-first in the brand-new grammar school- John McLaren; then moved on to junior high, at Luther Burbank; and, finally, her mom's alma mater high school that prided itself with spirit and tradition, Balboa High School. In grammar school is where she met her two life-long friends- Patricia Aglugub Schuermann, who could make up the most imaginable stories on their walks home from school, and Joy Carlson Durrett, who was smart and introspective. They graduated in the class of 1965 with close to 500 students. During high school, she also belonged to Sr. Girl Scout Troup 378 (her camp name, Sunbeam), where she made more friends, learned camping skills and enjoyed group trips to Yosemite, Los Angeles, and Canada. She also taught swimming to other students. After Balboa, in 1967 she earned an A.A. degree in Secretarial Training at City College of S.F. Then off to work she went. She was hired at Southern Pacific RR on July 10, 1967, in the sales department's steno pool. Seniority at the railroad was important for bidding on new positions, ones with retirement (30 years were required to receive full retirement).

As a child, the family lived in the Sunnydale Housing Projects but as crime began growing, they decided to move. Barbara was working full time with Greyhound and Linda with Southern Pacific, and they could share rent on a cute house at 270 Rolph Street (1971-1975). When their landlord decided to sell, they moved, again, along with their mom, to warmer weather at 23 Peterson, Pl. Walnut Creek (1975-1978). In 1978, Linda wanted to invest in property, so she purchased 3790 Greenbriar Dr., Pittsburgh, CA, (1978 -1981). This is when she met Bob and they began dating. She knew he was a "keeper" when they first met at an Octoberfest in Marin. His cousin Ron Zimmerman introduced them. Linda was delighted to learn he would be living only three miles away at Antioch from her new home in Pittsburg (their meeting was certainly "fate").

Work history and married life:

In December 1980, Bob was on unemployment but with preferential hiring he was able to bid on a job opening at Crown Zellerbach Mill in Los Angeles. As this would distance them, they decided to be married in the pretty coastal town of Carmel, CA, the following August 15, 1981. SP accepted Linda's transfer to Los Angeles Sales Department. While living at 18372 Avolinda Dr., Yorba Linda, CA from 1981-1988, Linda and Bob lost Bob's daughter Angela to CF in 1990. Linda's mom lived with them until her passing in 1984. Their son Rob lived with them through the "great" house remodel (they added bedrooms to the front and back of the house), and their daughter Karen, the free spirit, moved between Yorba Linda and her mother, in Battle Mountain. Their daughter Linnea was born in 1982 and was a blessing as tiny as she was, being four plus weeks early. They loved living in Southern California with all the amusement parks, beaches, warm weather, and wonderful neighbors.

In 1988, Linda's position as Coordinator, Rev. Mgmt., Collections, in the Los Angeles Accounting Department, was being transferred to S.F. Bob remained with the kids for about six months until Angie could be settled in Southern California. Bob's son Ron, and their daughter Linnae joined Linda in Northern California at their new home at 3553 Centennial Dr. Antioch, CA a few days before Christmas. Bob found work again at the Simpson/Neenah/Fox Paper Mill, in Ripon, CA. Ten years later, in 1998, Linda's job at SP/ATSF was being transferred to Topeka, KS- thankfully, she had 31 years of seniority and could leave the RR and still be eligible for full retirement at 60. With a great severance package, she became a homemaker and chauffeur to daughter Linnae, and she also took classes at Los Medanos College. With her new office skills, she decided to seek temporary work and was employed at City of Oakland; Arthur Anderson; and CB Richard Ellis. She was hired for a permanent position in the Legal Department at Calpine Corp., a position which lasted 4.5 years until they filed for bankruptcy in 2006. Earlier, in 2005, after Linnea and Rick's wedding in Idaho, Linda and Bob bought a home in Meridian, ID. And in 2006 they made the decision to move into their new home at 1210 E. Pistioa Dr., to be closer to the kids. Bob took early retirement at age 55 and Linda retired at 60 (yay!). They moved one more time to N. Eynsford Ave., Meridian, ID to be across the street from granddaughter Ashlyn. Back in 1998, Bob's father passed away, and from the trust, Linda and Bob purchased 10888 Pine View HTS., Nevada City, CA and worked on improvements and remodeling for the next 19 years. The "workshop" was nicely remodeled by nephew Vernon so we could vacation in comfort.

The travel Bug

After graduation, Linda knew she wanted to travel. She thought it would be exciting and a good learning experience. So, she began saving up for yearly vacation trips each year, which continued for the next ten years.

Her first trip is 1968, not counting her scouting trip to Banff National Park in Canada, was with her future sister-in-law, Patty, to Hawaii (Oahu and Kauai- where they saw Elvis Presley, who was staying in their hotel). Because the legal drinking age was 20, she was able to sample some of the exotic drinks they served there.

The next year, in 1969, Linda's aunt Yerdes, uncle Harold Nelson, and cousins Margo and Dennis invited her to join them on a trip to Europe (9 weeks). She saved like crazy. She would be able to see her father who lived in Lappfjard, Finland. When Linda was young, he was deported back to Finland, and years later, she tried to correct this deportation by having him legally re-enter the U.S. When he arrived, he didn't understand he needed to go to the U.S. embassy first. It was not to be, so he needed to return to Finland. On her trip with aunt Yerdes, everyone arrived in Copenhagen, drove to Harold's home in Sweden, via Oslo, then by boat to Finland to meet up with Aunt Helga and Linda's father. From Finland, Harold drove them to Stockholm, East Berlin, Germany; Lucerne, Switzerland; Paris, France; and by boat to London, England. Then Dennis and Linda flew to Nice, France and flew back to Copenhagen, Denmark. Then by herself, Linda traveled to Amsterdam, Holland; Burger, Belgium, and finally back to Copenhagen to fly back home. She couldn't have had a better time- Europe was eye opening.

In 1970, Patricia and Linda planned a trip to Mexico. They flew to Guadalajara; and from there they flew to Mexico City where Erhart, Rolando Salazar's cousin, was their tour guide; then via bus, they traveled to Taxco (quaint) for an overnight stay and then continued to Acapulco where they ran into some vacationing high school friends.

In early 1971, Linda flew to Chicago with a friend, Tom. They asked about first class seats on the plane and got the upgrade, along with all the luxuries that go with first class. The goal of the trip was to take the ASTF Super Chief from Chicago to Los Angeles, where Linda enjoyed her own private "roomette" on the train. Along the way, they visited with the VP of ATSF (in his private car at the back of the train). His son, Al Davis, worked with Linda and Tom at SP.

Later in 1971, Patricia, Tom, and Linda took a New England trip (drove north to Portland, Maine, to visit Karen, a friend Linda previously met on her Europe trip) and to see the sun rise from the east. They drove south to Salem, MA; New York (where their hotel room was ransacked). They then rode the Metro liner to Washington D.C. to visit the Lincoln Memorial, the White House, and Mt. Vernon. Patricia and Linda completed their trip by flying to St. Thomas in the Virgin Islands, where Linda purchased a duty-free camera (to replace the one stolen in New York.

The next year, 1972, it was Hawaii again with Rita. They flew to the big island (hiked up to the eruption site and took in the molten lava's sulfuric smell); Maui was next; and finally, Waikiki, where a friend of a coworker, Bon d'Alessio, gave them a tour of Oahu. They wrapped up 1972 with a short girlfriend trip to Las Vegas and riding to Fort Braggs Skunk train.

In 1973, Rita and Linda teamed up again to ride the Sunset Limited from L.A. to New Orleans with stopovers in San Antonio (the Alamo), and Houston and returning by train from New Orleans' French Quarter (where Bill Piety was our tour guide- a brother of a co-worker) with a stopover in El Paso with shopping in Jaurez, Mexico. We rode the aerial tramway to Ranger Peak to view three states, and from here they flew back to San Francisco.

In 1974, Linda learned to snow-ski (in powder snow, too!) with Peggy, after a six-day trip to Sun Valley, ID.

In 1975, Linda retuned to Sun Valley for more classes with Marlene and Al and the Nisei Ski Club (second gen Japanese). Along with several other friends, Linda enjoyed weekend ski trips to the Tahoe area to practice her new skiing skills.

In 1976, Linda took a Bi-Centennial trip to the East Coast with friends, Theresa, Herny, and Tim, via Baltimore, MD. They toured Arlington, VA; Jefferson's Monticello in Charlottesville, VA; and toured Williamsburg, VA. They also visited Philadelphia (the Liberty Bell), Lancaster, and Valley Forge, PA. They drove to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, NY. They also toured Boston and Salem, MA; climbed the Statute of Liberty, Lincoln Memorial, in D.C.; and toured Mt. Vernon, along the Potomac, VA; and visited the U.S. Capitol and Congress, i.e. Senate Chamber and House of Representatives, and finely saw a Broadway play.

In 1977, Linda ventured alone back to Europe to take the Italian cooking class with Marcella Hazen. The famous chef, James Beard was sitting in to observe. They flew Oakland to Zurich, then a train to Venice, Italy. After seeing the beautiful sites and buying souvenir glassware, Linda travelled to Marcella's cooking class in Bologna, Italy. A picture of Linda on the vineyard tour made next year's brochure. Then she took a train to Paris and stayed very near Notre Dame. Finally, they boarded the train to Munich where a doctor wrote up a prescription for Linda's diarrhea (must have drank some very bad water in Paris). After a couple of days recuperating (and eating lots of bananas), Linda flew to Zurich and thence to Oakland. Morale of the story is- it's not always best to travel alone.

In 1978 Linda joined Marlene and Al on a skiing vacation to Toas, NM. She flew to Albuquerque, NM, and drove to the resort in Toas, where she was challenged with skiing their rugged terrain. In the spring, Linda drove to beautiful Yosemite with her mom, Patty, and Eric. The trip ended in July on a camping trip with Al and Marlene to MT. Lassen.

In October 1978 when she met Bob, she no longer needed the excitement that traveling provided and put most long distance traveling on the "back burner". With exception to the lovely 14-day Caribbean honeymoon cruise on Sitmar Lines. Over the years of being married, Linda and Bob continued to take some nice nearby trips to hike Yosemite (a favorite), and to visit family members in the Sierra Nevada and Las Vegas areas. Linda also had the pleasure of chaperoning Linnea's spectacular, and scenic, Princess Alaskan cruises with the family and "girls only" trips to Sedona, AZ, and a cruise to San Diego and Ensenada, Mexico.