Leonard Dickenson MELVILLE

LEONARD DICKENSON MELVILLE Leonard Dickenson Melville, 83, of Sun City, Ariz,, passed away Jan. 1, 2005. A memorial service will be held at First Presbyterian Church in Bemidji, Mn. at a date to be scheduled in late spring. Leonard was born in Bemidji on Oct. 13, 1921 to Leonard “Dick” Melville and Evelyn Bailey Melville. He attended the Laboratory School and then graduated from Bemidji High School in 1939. He later received his Bachelor of Science degree at Bemidji State University, attended the Minneapolis Institute of Arts, and then earned his Master of Arts degree from the University of Northern Colorado in Greeley, Colo. He served in the U.S. Army during World War II—the youngest draftee from Beltrami County. Leonard married Nel Marie Weslowski of Fort Frances, Ont. and they had one son, David Melville. Leonard taught art in the International Falls schools from 1943-67, where he also taught college extension art courses out of Bemidji State University for many years, as well as graduate courses in Fine Arts at the University of Northern Colorado. The family relocated to Bemidji, where he worked for Kordel Furniture from 1967 until his retirement in 1983. After moving to Sun City in 1990, he taught watercolour classes for several years. He was a teacher and painted all of his life. He studied and painted with American artists Nita Engle, Raleigh Kinney, Ray Loos, George Post, Tony Van Hasslet, Frank Webb, Ed Whitney, and Robert E. Woods, as well as Canadian artists Paul Baird, Guttorn Otto, William Randall, and Zoltan Szabo. He attended and taught at many workshops throughout Minnesota and at the Quetico Training and Conference Centre in Northwestern Ontario. He was a signature painter with the Midwest Watercolor Society (MWS) and exhibited at Arrowhead Art Exhibition in Duluth, Mn., Neville Public Museum in Green Bay, Wis., Rainy Lake Art Exhibition in International Falls, Mn., Bemidji Art Center in Bemidji, Tweed Gallery in Duluth, Manitou Gallery in Manitou, Wis., Red River Art Exposition in Fargo, N.D., Fort Frances Art Exhibition in Fort Frances, Ont., Sun Cities Art Museum in Sun City, Ariz., and at the Minnesota Rural Artists exhibitions throughout Minnesota. Leonard is survived by his wife, Nel Marie Weslowski of Fort Frances, Ont. and son, David of Litchfield Park, Ariz.; sister-in-law, Lillian (Jim) Boudreau; niece, Holly (Larry) Frantz of Winnipeg, Man.; nephew, Guy (Jan) Boudreau of Winnipeg, Man.; niece, Kallie Boudreau and Nathalie Fouquette of Dryden, Ont.; and nephew, Mark (Rose) Boudreau of Dryden, Ont. He was predeceased by his parents and infant brother, “Billy.” In lieu of flowers, the family prefers in memoriam donations to the Rainy River Community College towards a Fine Arts scholarship in his name. The family can be contacted at 10171 W Hutton Dr., Sun City, AZ, 85351.