February 01, 1923 - January 13, 2016
Thea Meland Obituary
Thea Meland passed away peacefully on January 13th at the age of 92. Thea was born in Munich, Germany and was raised by her mother and stepfather, Franziska and Anton Sachsinger. Later, as a teenager, she moved to Landshut to live with and help her great aunt and uncle, Maria and Ludwig Gross. Thea?s younger sister Julia stayed in Munich with her parents. Thea held various jobs prior to the war, working once in a cookie factory and later in another factory making small slates for school children. During the war, she found work in a drugstore as a photographer?s assistant. That?s where she first met Melvin Meland, an American GI from Spokane who was stationed there at the end of the war. On an outing with a group of GIs and friends, Mel rescued Thea from drowning in the Isar River. Their courtship was quite an adventure but they had to overcome the war department, who frowned on any kind of fraternization at the time. Eventually, Mel was able to send for Thea when he returned to Spokane. They married and settled in the Spokane Valley. There they raised their 3 children, Melvin Jr. (Butch), Judi and Frank. Thea went to work for a short time at the Sunshine Biscuit Company and later was employed by the Armour Meat Company. She retired from there as a meat trimmer after nearly 30 years of service.
Mel and Thea would regularly visit relatives in California, mostly in the Carmel and Pebble Beach areas. Mom loved to walk the garden pathways and enjoyed feeding the squirrels while sitting by the ocean. She fixed wonderful holiday feasts over the years and her home would be packed with relatives and friends. Mom and Dad fished many area lakes and were regulars each October in Pateros, WA fishing for steelhead. Mel liked to tell stories about when Thea would outfish him, which happened on more than one occasion. For fun, he claimed she was just lucky and she claimed back that he was just jealous.
Mom was a hard worker all of her life, and she was always ready for an adventure. She dearly loved all of her grandchildren, riding elephants with them one day and attending one of their many events the next. She was always there for them as she was for all of her family. She was simply the best.
Thea was preceded in death by her parents and husband Melvin, who passed away just two months ago. They are together again. She is survived by her sister, Julia Barner from Kentfield, CA, children Melvin (Diane) Meland Jr., Judi (Duane) Giese, and Frank Meland, all from Spokane, WA. She also leaves behind 2 nieces, 11 grandchildren, and many great-grandchildren.
Special thanks to the wonderful and caring people at Colonial Court Assisted Living. Services to be held at Heritage Funeral home, 508 N. Government Way, Spokane, on Thursday, January 21st at Noon with burial at Greenwood Cemetery to follow at 1:30 PM. Visitation is on Wednesday, January 20th from 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM.
Comments