Leland "Lee" C. Melville

Leland (Lee) Melville of Village of Waukesha passed away peacefully on Thursday, June 30, 2022 at AngelsGrace Hospice at the age of 98. He was born in Manitowoc, WI on September 6, 1923 the son of David and Amanda (nee Schadeberg) Melville. Lee was raised in Manitowoc and graduated from Lincoln High School in 1941. Following graduation, he worked for Manitowoc Shipbuilding until voluntarily joining the U.S. Army in 1943 where he served in the European and Pacific Theatres in WWII in the 785th Military Police Battalion. Following his honorable discharge, he enrolled at Carroll College and graduated in 1950 with a B.A. Degree in Business Administration. He went on graduate from the American Institute of Banking in 1953 and also was a 1957 graduate of the School of Banking at University of Wisconsin-Madison. He was employed by the Waukesha National Bank and continued a 30-year career with the bank. Lee rose through the ranks and became President and CEO of the then called First National Bank of Waukesha. The bank had many names changes and upon his retirement in 1981 he was President of the Independence Bank Group Inc.

In 1951 he married Fay Wittbold, also a Carroll College graduate and they were married for 65 years, until her passing on December 27, 2016.

Over the years, Lee was very active in the Waukesha community and was involved with many different organizations, including the United Way Fund Presidency and Chairmanships, Director and Treasurer of Waukesha Memorial Hospital, Director and President of Waukesha Memorial Hospital Foundation, Merrill Hills Country Club President, Charter Member and President of the Waukesha Toastmasters Club, Board member and Vice President of the Waukesha Noon Optimist Club, recipient of the 1982 community service award from the Waukesha Chamber of Commerce among many other directorships and chairmanships. Lee was also instrumental in helping bring a new state office building to downtown Waukesha (Lee Sherman Dreyfus State Office Building) and was active in fundraising roles for Carroll College, Waukesha Memorial Hospital, the YMCA, Boy Scouts, Red Cross, March of Dimes and United Way. He was a lifetime member of the American Legion, a life member of the Senior Golf Association of Wisconsin and charter tennis member of the Brook Club.

Outside of his outstanding professional career, Lee enjoyed life with a good, clean sense of humor and loved to play tennis (winning the 70+ Men’s Doubles Club Championship at Spruce Creek, FL), and golf (scoring three hole-in-ones at Merrill Hills Country Club). He also found enjoyment in pheasant hunting, fishing, downhill and cross-country skiing, poker, reading, dabbling in the stock market and staying active at his home in Spruce Creek, FL.

He will be sadly missed by his daughter Debra Fay (Scott) DePauw of Gurnee, IL, son David (Sandi) Melville of Village of Waukesha, his grandchildren, Rebecca Lee (Charles) Jackson, Tyler (Jessica) Melville and Jacob Melville (fiancée Kristin Zablocki) and his step granddaughter Heather DePauw (fiancée Dakota Massengale) and his great-grandchildren, Charles Lee Jackson, Ryan Jackson, and Emersyn Fay Melville, and step great-grandson Kota Massengale. He is further survived by a niece, nephews, other relatives and friends. In addition to his wife, Fay (who he always referred to as his “bride”), he was preceded in death by his brothers David Melville, Edwin Kummer Sr. and sister Mildred Shimek.

Visitation will take place on Thursday, July 14, 2022 from 3:00 p.m. until the 5:00 p.m. funeral service at the Randle-Dable-Brisk Funeral Home, 1110 S. Grand Ave., Waukesha. Pastor Paola Benecchi will preside.
Full military honors will follow the service. Private interment with his wife Fay will be at Southern Wisconsin Veterans Memorial Cemetery in Union Grove at a future date. Memorials in Lee's name are appreciated to the Alzheimer's Association Southeastern WI Chapter, 620 S. 76th Street, Suite 160 Milwaukee, WI 53214.