Robert Andrew Meliza, Jr.

Robert Andrew Meliza, Jr. age 89, of Garnett, Kansas, passed away on Saturday, March 25, 2023, at Anderson County Hospital Residential Living Center in Garnett, Kansas.

Bob was born on April 21, 1933, in Iola, Kansas, the son of Robert Andrew Meliza Sr. and Leota Ethel (Whitaker) Meliza. He was married to Franque Marcene Chilcote on February 3, 1963, in Wichita, Kansas.

As the son of a teacher whose job took the family to different locations, he lived in Kansas, Nebraska, Missouri and Oregon. Bob graduated from Walnut Grove High School in Walnut Grove, Missouri, with the class of 1951. He attended Kansas State University, majoring in civil engineering (1957).

In his life, Bob exemplified the motto of "God, Country & Family". He served in the US Army from June 1953 - June 1955, with the 548 AAA Gun Battalion. His unit (an AntiAircraft division) was first stationed at Ft. Bliss, Texas, and then Loring AFB (an SAC defense site) near Caribou, Maine, the most northeastern city in the US. He often spoke of memories and experiences with the service and the frigid Maine woods.

On his return home to Kansas, he worked for the Kansas State Highway Dept. (later called the Kansas Department of Transportation) from 1955 to 1996 (42 years). Over the years, his job title progressed from Engineering Aide II to Engineering Tech IV. He worked as a materials inspector with highway projects, including construction of the Kansas Turnpike.

Bob was active with many local organizations in the community. He was an active and faithful member of the First Christian Church, where he had an impressive attendance record. Over the years, Bob served in various capacities, including deacon, elder, choir member, and Sunday school teacher. He will be remembered by many as one of the early church service greeters. Bob was also active in the Masonic Lodge, Eastern Star, Shriners, Scottish Rite, Genealogy Club, and the AnARC. Bob held leadership positions with most of them.

Bob and his wife, Franque, were founding members of the local Association of Retarded Citizens (ARC) for Anderson County in 1975. His keen interest in the development of this local organization was due to the diagnosis of their second child, Holly, with Down's Syndrome. Over the years, he was active with state, regional and local initiatives for ARC, including the Garnett Thrift Shop, LakeMary (Paola 1975) and TriKo.

Other passions and interests were family and family events, genealogy searches, travel and gardening. From the time of his dad's passing in 1953, Bob took an active role helping his widowed mother with the 5 younger siblings who were still at home. Later, Franque and he spent much time doing whatever it took to promote the welfare of Holly's special needs. In retirement, they enjoyed considerable traveling. Many of their trips were centered around searching out information for family genealogy, visiting distant cousins, courthouse and cemeteries. At the time of his move to ACH-RLC, file cabinets and boxes of genealogy correspondence with family were uncovered. Bob's gardening passion was established in his youth, where he recalled helping with the large family garden and orchard. Every location he lived at later sported a large garden where an abundance of vegetables were grown for eating, canning and sharing with friends and neighbors.

Bob was preceded in death by his wife, Franque Marcene Meliza in 2017; infant daughter, Robyn Leota in 1964 and daughter, Holly Renee in 2020; parents, Robert in 1953 and Leota in 1989; siblings, James Gene Meliza Sr. in 1962 and Etta Marie Barndt and husband William in 2020.

He is survived by his siblings, Clara Myers of Kansas City, Missouri; Sharon Stegman of Lawrence, Kansas; Oliver Meliza and wife Karen of McClouth, Kansas; Claude Meliza of Garnett, Kansas; and Jim Meliza, Jr. of Boise, Idaho; multiple nieces and nephews.

Funeral services will be held at 2:00 PM on Saturday, April 1, 2023, at the First Christian Church in Garnett, Kansas. Burial will follow in the Garnett Cemetery. Bob's family will greet friends from 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM on Friday evening at the Feuerborn Family Funeral Service chapel in Garnett, Kansas. Memorial contributions may be made to LakeMary, First Christian Church, or ARC and left in care of the funeral home. Condolences may be sent to the family at www.feuerbornfuneral.com
You can watch Bob's funeral service here @ https://vimeo.com/event/3233704
You can watch Bob's funeral service here @ https://vimeo.com/event/3233715