William Joseph Melven

A private funeral service for William Joseph (Bill) Melven will be held Friday, April 7, 2023, in the mausoleum chapel at Temples Halloran Funeral Home, 5400 Bush River Road, Columbia, SC 29212, with interment following in the mausoleum. The Rev. Stephen Taylor will officiate. Bill was born in Kennett, MO, October 29, 1933 and passed away in Columbia, SC on Tuesday, April 4, 2023. He was the son of the late Lowell H. Melven and Ina Jenkins Melven of Carrier Mills, Illinois. He graduated from Carrier Mills High School in 1951, where he combined his love of sports and music by playing guard on the basketball team, and playing tenor saxophone with the pep band during halftime at the games. Bill also had a deep love for wildlife and the outdoors and pursued that love in studies at Southern Illinois University in Carbondale, IL graduating with a Bachelor’s Degree in Biology in 1955. In 1956, he was drafted into the U.S. Army and served honorably until 1958. Also in 1956, Bill married Shirley Barnett Melven who remained the love of his life for sixty-seven years. Following discharge from military service, Bill continued his pursuit of a career in wildlife biology, eventually joining the US Department of Agriculture in the Soil Conservation Service (now the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service) where he served in various capacities in Illinois, West Virginia, Tennessee, and South Carolina, eventually retiring in 1986. However, Bill loved to work and loved serving the cause of conservation even more, so his retirement was short-lived when he joined the Lexington Soil and Water Conservation District in 1990 and served as district manager until retiring again in 2014 at the age of eighty. During his long career, Bill earned many awards including SC Conservation District Employee Association President’s Award, NACD Southeast Region Conservation Hall of Fame Award, SC Soil & Water Conservation Society Conservation Technical Award, and the National Conservation District Employee of the Year. In December of 2022, Bill received his highest honor when the Lexington Soil and Water Conservation District permanently renamed the District Conservationist of the Year Award to The Bill Melven Conservationist of the Year Award. However, Bill has always maintained the greatest reward in his career in conservation, and in his life, was the true friendships developed with the many fine people he came to know and love. Bill was a member of Union United Methodist Church in Irmo, SC for forty-seven years. He was a lifelong avid fisherman, hunter, and outdoorsman. As an alumnus of SIU, Bill was a loyal Saluki, but he was also an avid Gamecock fan who enjoyed going to USC football games with his wife, son, daughter-in-law, and grandchildren for many years. In his second post-retirement, Bill returned to the tenor saxophone by joining the Congaree New Horizons Band under the direction of his grandson and USC graduate student, William, at the age of eighty-four. Bill, known affectionately as “Pa Pa” to his grandchildren, was a proud grandparent who supported his grandchildren in their many activities and interests. Bill is survived by his wife Shirley Barnett Melven, his son William Chad Melven (Jane), and three grandchildren, Meredith Melven, William Melven (Abigail), and Reese Melven. Bill was truly loved by his family and many friends, and he will be deeply missed.