Mel's Memorial Service

Who we are, told and checked

Diana stood up and told the family who it is, from memory, in two minutes.

The record disagrees with her on nearly every point, and she flags the softest claim herself. Both belong in this archive, at the same size, in the same ink, with a mark on each.

Everybody is worth twenty dollars

I remember one silly story about dad. He was at Telephone Warehouse and I wasn't working there at the time. I was working at CCI. But I came to have lunch with him one day.

And If you all remember where Telephone Warehouse was down in McDowell, it was pretty seedy. You know, it got to be a pretty seedy area.

And so I went in to pick up dad and go to lunch. And this old gal from next door, I think it was a gun shop or something, she walks in and she's just literally all strung out and, you know, missing half of her hair and made about 85 pounds.

And, you know, she walks in and she's like, Mal, can I have my own $20? And dad's like, sure, whatever. You know, Sharon reaches into his pocket, gives her 20 bucks and she's like, thanks, heads back out the door.

And so we're ready to go to lunch. I was like, dad, why did you loan her $20? You'll never get that back.

And he said, son, everybody's worth $20. And, you know, it just, that's who he was.

And, you know, he kind of ended up penniless, you know, at the end of his life. And that's because he kind of gave it all away.

Playing with the boys

So I would be out there and play in the games, and Melvin would come out, and I'd see him talking to all the boys, you know.

And I said, what is he saying? And he's saying, they said, be careful with you, you know.

And it kind of made me mad, like, no, I'm as tough as they are, you know.

And so I said to Melvin, I said, I'm as tough as they are. I can take it, you know.

And he said, oh, I know you are. I was telling them that for their sake.

And it made me feel good. You know, he knew I was tough.

How many pieces of them exist in all of us

Hi, I'm Jason Waldrip, I'm Rick's son and Mel's grandson. Sitting up here just hearing everyone, I'm thinking about how many pieces of Mel and Marvin just exist in all of us today.

And just thinking about how much of that got passed down to my dad and Rob and everyone else. I mean, the same generosity came from both my dad and Rob. I got a start in tech because of Rob, you know.

And all this generosity of putting your hand out and helping your family really comes a long way. And I'm just really grateful, I see a lot of myself in Grandpa.

I have that joy, and I just love to make people laugh.

Wit and Mischief

I think we can all agree Mel was unique and unforgettable.

I will always remember his grit, his wit, and sometimes the fact he was completely full of shit.

And honestly, I think he would love that. So I think the best way to honor Mel is simply to laugh. Smile. Make someone laugh. Bring a little laughter into the world, preferably with a dash of mischief.

Mirror twins and fistfights

I just tell you that he was a wonderful twin. Left-handed, not right-handed.

Politics, we were opposite sides. We were mirror-twenties [mirror twins].

And fights, we used to get in fights. Some guy, I remember one time, he knew this guy was going to hit him. And the guy, you didn't know he was left-handed. And he popped in so hard the first time.

The family closeness

The closeness is amazing, and I'm just proud that my mom and dad passed that down to every single one of us.

And I don't think it ever did [fade], it's always been there.

Getting into telecom

I'm Rob Waldron. I'm number three son. My dad's favorite.

He got me my first job in telecom for a company called Tim's.

But I'm forever grateful for the memories and then him getting me into telecom in, you know, 40 years now, today.

Thirty years at the warehouse

He just, man, so genuine, genuinely happy, you know.

And I'm grateful they made a career, you know, for me as well, coming up on 30 years at the telephone warehouse.

Seventeen cousins on my mom's side

Recently, I shared a story and a message that I am the second oldest of 17 cousins just on my mom's side.

But in our generation, there was a posse of us Waldrip grandkids, right? Most of whom now have their own grandkids. And we know each other.