Melvin D. Mendelsohn, 89, died Thursday, January 10, 2008 at Brookview Manor in Brookings, South Dakota. Burial will be in Rosehill Cemetery in Chicago, joining his parents and his wife, Rosemary. Melvin was born October 30, 1918, in Chicago, the son of David and Freda (Remlinger) Mendelsohn. He attended Illinois Institute of Technology, (called Armour Institute at the time), where he received his bachelors degree in electrical engineering. After graduation, Mel worked for Lindberg Engineering on high temperature electrical furnace design. He married Rosemary Del George in 1944, and they had one son, Robert, in 1945. They lived in Chicago until 1951, when Mel left Lindberg and moved his family to Baltimore, Maryland. There, as part of the defense program, Mel worked on missile development in the area of reentry heat design at Lockheed Martin. For the next six years the family moved between Baltimore, Maryland where missiles were produced, and Fort Worth and Ogalee, Florida, where the missiles were test launched at Cape Canaveral. In 1957, the family returned to the Chicago area, living in Palatine while Mel worked for the City of Chicago as an electrical engineer overseeing city lighting and consulted at his first job at Lindberg Engineering. Mel retired in 1970 to become a consultant throughout the United States and Canada in the area of high temperature electrical furnaces. Mel was a HAM radio operator (W90BW) for many years and made friends in many countries through that medium. He received several amateur radio awards, including the ultimate amateur award, ARRLs, The Wouff Hong. He also enjoyed dancing and participated in several dancing groups, including ballroom and square dancing. It was through his love of dancing that he met Josephine Mannella, who became his loving companion for the last sixteen years of his life. He had a lifelong interest in pottery. After his retirement, he worked on his pottery and spent time studying with master potters around the country. He himself became a master potter and has left behind a body of artistic work that will long survive him. Melvin is survived by his son, Robert and daughter-in-law, Susan, of Brookings; three grandchildren: David, Jessica, and Jonathan; a great-granddaughter, Lily Ann; and Josephine Mannella, to whom he was devoted. He was preceded in death by his wife, Rosemary and his brother, Jack Mendelsohn who died three days earlier this year.