Wm. Melton Stelter Obituary (1933 - 2018)

Wm. Melton Stelter 1933-2018 After 85 wonderful years, the music drew peacefully to a close for William Melton Stelter on August 15, 2018, due to incidents of age. The world has lost a great man. Melt, as his friends knew him, was born on February 26, 1933, in Union, Utah. While the world was in the grips of a Great Depression, Melt brought joy to the home of his parents, Brunow and Carrie Stelter. As a child, Melt showed an uncanny gift for music. He studied piano at Salt Lake City’s McCune School of Music and then progressed to study the organ under Mormon Tabernacle Choir organist Dr. Frank W. Asper. Melt’s talent at the organ was a rare gift. He blessed many lives with his music. It was Melt’s interest in music that led him to the true love of his life, his angel wife, Glena Leek. While a teenager, Melt taught piano lessons after school to earn money to pay for his own lessons. Glena was his star pupil, and they fell in love. Their plans for a life together were put on hold when Melt was drafted into the United States Army to serve in the Korean War. After returning from Korea, Melt then served as a missionary for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the North Central States Mission. At long last, Melt and Glena married on June 10, 1958, in the Salt Lake Temple. Melt graduated from the University of Utah and followed another interest by becoming a history teacher. Melt taught history for over 30 years in the Granite School District. His love of history was infectious; he made stories come alive. Melt and Glena were blessed with six children and 14 grandchildren. Melt loved his family with all his heart. Nothing made him happier than reveling in his children’s, and grandchildren’s, accomplishments. He was a passionate learner throughout his life, a true Renaissance man. Melt was a musician, a historian, an educator, an inventor (holding multiple U.S. patents), and an author (having written two books). Melt could play a concerto one minute and rebuild an engine the next. He was an unshakeable believer in the Gospel of Jesus Christ until his final breath and served in numerous church capacities throughout his life. Foremost among Melt’s traits was charity. He was kind, patient, and forgiving to all. Melt is survived by his wife, Glena; his six children, Melodie (John) Bauer, Carrie (Michael) O’Dea, Jeffrey (Jill) Stelter, Casey (Angela) Stelter, Judson (Sara) Stelter, and Hollie Stelter; as well as his 14 grandchildren. Melt was preceded in death by his parents and his siblings, Reinald, Clifton, Wilbur, and Esther. Funeral services will be held Tuesday, August 21, 2018 at 11:00 a.m. at the Butler 20th Ward at 1355 East 7200 South, Cottonwood Heights, Utah 84121. Friends may call at the Jenkins-Soffe Funeral Home, 1007 W. South Jordan Parkway, South Jordan, Utah 84095, on Monday, August 20, 2018, from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m., and on Tuesday at the church from 10:00 to 10:45 a.m. prior to the funeral services. Interment will be in the Murray City Cemetery.