Harry G. Meline Obituary

He is predeceased by parents Samuel "Tex" and Perle (nee Groman) Meline of Malden MA. and leaves behind his bereft friend, spouse and collaborator of 43 years, Kathleen Hargreaves, as well as children Louisa Meline, Jaime Meline and spouse Emily, Sarah (nee Meline) and husband Jerome Lande and Nicholas Bessmer, son of first wife, Marlene. Close family includes brother & sister law Ed and Eileen Hanley-Meline as well as granddaughters Phoebe and Mia Lande, nephews Michael and Matthew Meline, Peter Hanley and "special niece" Madrine Larsen, as well as Nan Dillon, the mother of his children. He also leaves behind his BMF, Gilligan, his hefty 11-year-old food-begging sidekick, whom Harry described as a Catahoula Leopard Dog (but wasn't.).

Harry was a man who wore coats of many colors. Prior to his intrinsic two decades role at BOWSERSzzz Canine Dog Resort, Harry was a member of the original start-up crew for WGBH public television. He ruefully admits a brief stint as a stock broker before turning his back on that livelihood, along with his colorful NYC life, which included long nights at The White Horse Tavern and rubbing shoulders with upcoming celebrities such as -- the first to come to mind -- Richard Chamberlain, Jack Ward, The Clancy Brothers, Nancy Friday, Bill Manville, Mary Travers, Geraldine Chaplin, Rita Moreno and an ever sulking Robert DeNiro. There were more but, if one can imagine, those were crazy times in The Village.

Then moving to Key West, where he met Kathleen, he briefly settled in Amesbury, MA., fulfilling a family obligation as administrator of MacKenzie Nursing Home for several years. Finally experiencing the freedom to pursue his first love, he became a professional performer of ragtime (and the rare "approved" request) and performed some 15 years throughout the tri-state New England piano bar circuit. His grizzled vocal style regularly prompted comparisons to Louis Armstrong and Tom Waits.

In addition to being a quasi "Berrick Gentleman Farmer" since 1984, He had homes at Fire Island, Key West as well as Marsh Harbour, Abaco, Bahamas. But his forever home-away-from-home was Doolin, County Clare, Ireland, which he visited at least yearly the last three decades and with luck and hope, will return as a single drop of rain, a speckled stray cat or a flock of robins...

A brief, very informal, no obligation memorial service, post cremation, will be held at Grondin Funeral Home, Rochester, N.H. between the hours of 5 to 7 p.m. this Wednesday, February 26. Feel free to join us in remembrance of this "one in a million" man.