Obituary of Julie Melin

Julie Ellen Ann Melin was born on November 10, 1946 in Viking Alberta. Sadly, Julie passed away on August 27, 2020 at the Wainwright Health Centre in Wainwright, Alberta at the age of 73 years. In honouring Julie’s family and the existing provincial recommendations, a private family service will be held and a recording of the service will be made available through the Gregory’s Funeral Home website on September 11th, and will be accessible any time thereafter. We encourage those who knew and loved Julie to gather together with your loved ones to view the service. “How lucky we are to have had someone that makes saying goodbye so hard.” Julie grew up on a farm 12 miles north of Sedgewick, Alberta. She was the youngest of 3 children born to Everett and Ellen Lancaster. From the beginning, Julie was happiest enjoying nature. She especially loved her animals – horses, pet pigs, dogs, and even salamanders which she would dig out of the dirt, and harness up as her team. Her tiny stature earned her nicknames like “Peanut” and “Pint-Size”. But if you assumed that her small frame meant she was fragile, it wouldn’t be long before you were educated in her strength and spunkiness. She was not afraid of hard work. At the age of 10, Julie’s mom worked in town 5 days a week, coming home only on the weekends, so Julie was expected to help with the family farm, cooking meals and cleaning the house. This early introduction to work ethic served Julie well, and she could outwork people half her age. It was not uncommon to see her out in the garden at the crack of dawn in her housecoat and rubber boots. When she was 14, Julie moved to the Czar area to help at the Porter Ranch and attend high school in Hughenden. It was during this period that she met Ted. In her own words, “I started dating him on his 17th birthday. I was 15. The night before we were all together but with different dates, but he kept flirting with me and I was loving it. Our dating car was a station wagon, so we always had lots with us. Your dad was so different from most boys I dated. He was quiet, very mature for his years, and had an infectious smile. He never was moody and he’s still like that. Everyone, old and young, loved Teddy Melin.” In March of ‘65 while Julie was attending Secretarial School in Red Deer, Ted proposed, and they were married on September 3rd of that same year. They were happily married for almost 55 years. In 1967 Ted and Julie built their first home. With hard work and lots of love, what once was an empty field became a beautiful home where they raised their family. They had three children. Doyle was born in 1966, Dallas was born 11 months later (1967), and Shannon came along in 1970. Just by her very nature, Julie taught her kids the value of hard work, treasuring relationships and the importance of family. In Julie’s opinion, God never made anything better than her grandkids and great-grandbabies. Every single one of them was perfect, and there was nothing she wouldn’t do for them. She didn’t miss a single hockey game, dance event or school activity, and was their biggest cheerleader. Julie loved music. She played banjo in 3 different bands. She also taught guitar and banjo lessons to local kids and many of them became very good musicians. Her students were special to her, and the feeling was mutual. Julie’s family is huge and it isn’t made up of only relatives. Throughout her lifetime, she developed many strong friendships that turned into family. In the days since she passed, we have been comforted by many calls, texts and visits. A common theme among them has been that she made people feel like they belonged to her. Second mom, aunt, teacher, surrogate grandma – she filled these rolls in so many lives. Julie leaves to mourn her passing her loving husband, Ted; her children, Dallas (Claudette) and Shannon (Gary); and 6 grandchildren, Calvin (Charlene), Paige (Tanner), Brayden (Kenzie), Brooke (Clinton), Gillian and Joel; 4 great-grandchildren, Haylee, Kamden, Aria and Hazel; and many close friends and relatives. Julie was predeceased by her son, Doyle; parents, Everett and Ellen; brothers, Dwayne and Harvey; sister-in-law Lillian. How do you describe what made someone so special? How do you put into words what she meant to you and how she made you know you meant so much to her? It was the tilt of her head, the twinkle in her eye, the gentle touch of her hand and the sweet curl of her smile. It was the indescribable nature of her love.