Jerome F. Melvin Ph.D.

1934 - 2024

Jerome F. Melvin, Ph.D
1934 - 2024
Jerome F. Melvin, Ph.D., passed away on Thursday, November 21, with his children by his side. He was born on May 29, 1934, in Providence, RI, the son of the late Edward G. Melvin, M.D., and Veronica Melvin.
A graduate of La Salle Academy, Providence, RI, he received a bachelor's degree from the College of the Holy Cross, Worcester, MA; a master's degree from Boston College; and a Ph.D. from the University of Connecticut. Following graduation from Holy Cross, he served on active duty with the United States Marine Corps.
From 1974 to 1978, Dr. Melvin served as the Superintendent of Schools for the Wallingford Public Schools. He earlier served as Superintendent in Exeter, NH; and Turners Falls, MA, and also was an Assistant Superintendent, Essex Junction, VT; Junior High Principal, Keene, NH; Assistant Principal, North Smithfield Jr. Sr. High School, RI; and Social Studies Coordinator, Bristol, RI. A native of Warwick, RI, he taught in the Warwick Public Schools and also at the University of Connecticut's E.O. Smith School in Storrs.
After leaving Wallingford in 1978, Dr. Melvin became the Superintendent of Schools for the Liverpool Central School District, located just outside Syracuse, NY. Dr. Melvin served as Liverpool's school superintendent until December 1992 when he became Superintendent of Schools for the North Syracuse Central School District. After first retiring as North Syracuse School Superintendent in 2000, he was employed as an educational planner by a regional architecture firm, and later served as an interim high school principal as well as the interim school superintendent for five school districts.
In 2005, Dr. Melvin returned to North Syracuse as its superintendent of schools, where he served until 2011, finally retiring at 77 years old. He loved being a superintendent of schools, which was evident not only in holding the position over parts of six decades, but in his constant dedication to students, teachers, administrators, and board members. He was especially known for encouraging and inspiring teachers and administrators to maximize their talents and advance their careers. He was a true gentleman with a keen sense of intellectual curiosity who held himself and others to high standards and expectations. In 2000, the North Syracuse School District named its district office building the Jerome F. Melvin Administrative Office Building.
In addition to his parents, he was predeceased by his first wife Cynthia P. Melvin. He is survived by his two daughters; Cynthia (Keith) Ballard of Wakefield, RI and their son William, Mary Katherine Melvin (Chris Weltzien) of San Francisco, CA and their children Katherine, Elizabeth, and Christopher; his son, Edward G. (Deborah) Melvin, II of Syracuse, NY and their children Daniel and Margaret. He was a loving father and grandfather, and he was deeply loved in return.
A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at 10:00 am on Friday, December 27, 2024, at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, 259 E. Onondaga Street, Syracuse, where Dr. Melvin has been a parishioner since the early 1980s. Family and friends may call at the church starting at 9:00 am. He will be laid to rest in his family's plot at St. Francis Cemetery in Pawtucket, RI.
Please sign the Maurer Funeral Home online guestbook at (www.maurerfuneralhome.com) for Jerome to express your condolences to his family.