Gregory James Melnyk

Gregory James Melnyk, 50, went to be with his Lord on February 23, 2008. A Celebration of Life funeral service will be celebrated on Saturday, March 1, 2008 at 10:00 AM by Rev. Fr. Vasily Melnyk at Starks & Menchinger Family Funeral Home, 2650 Niles Rd. St. Joseph. Friends may visit with the family at 9:00 AM Saturday, prior to the service. Burial will follow at Riverview Cemetery, St. Joseph. Those wishing to share a memory or sign the guest book online may do so at www.starks-menchinger.com. Gregory is loved and will be remembered by his father Reverend Vasily Gregory Melnyk; his brother David (Jennea) Melnyk; his sisters Laura (Richard) Boquet, Elizabeth Melnyk, and Susan (Richard) Melnyk Barazotto; his nephew Andrew Barazotto; his cousin Vasily in Ukraine; his Aunt Nadine Tor, and his cousin Anna and second cousin Lydia. He was born in South Bend, Indiana on November 8, 1957. He moved to Saint Joseph and graduated from Michigan Lutheran High School in 1974. Gregory was a gentle, humble person who loved his Lord and Savior, and loved to read the bible. Baptized into the Russian Orthodox faith, he also became a member of the Christ Our Savior Orthodox Church, Benton Harbor. “Be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life” (Revelation 2:10). He loved people, was especially kind to children, and always made his friends as close as family. He found family in his church, and his home. He loved to fix things, and his unexpected but peaceful passing will leave many projects unfinished. Taken too soon from us, all prayers and concerns are appreciated and will guide his passage to his next peaceful life. All that exists is God’s gift to man, to make man’s life communion with God. It is divine love, made food, made life for man. God blesses everything He creates and this means that He makes all creation the sign and the means of His presence and wisdom, love, and revelation. He was preceded in death by his grandfather Omelian Trofim Melnyk, and his mother, Veronica Melnyk, whom he missed dearly.