Will and I were blessed to have Gene and Jackie Melander and their daughters Jody, Leigh and Lynn as neighbors when we moved from L.A. to State College in 1971. For over twenty years we celebrated holidays & special occasions together. We moved into our home on Fairway Road on a snowy December day. The next morning we looked out to find our sidewalks cleared of snow. We thought "what a great place to live, the city sure takes care of its residents". This continued for several days. On the 4th day the sidewalk wasn't cleared and we called the borough. They had a good laugh at our L.A. naivete and said they didn't clear sidewalks and we must have a very good neighbor. That was Gene, & emblematic of so many other events. Through the years we reveled in cooking as Gene and Will went through their Greek and Chinese cooking phases, Then there was Gene's Oriental rugs" fascination. He was a great seeker of knowledge, a wonderful listener,a terrific husband and father and friend and a gentle and good soul. We, like all his family and friends will miss him.