Melvin Crocker, 87, of Lisbon, died Wednesday, April 24, 2013, at Cottage Grove Place, Cedar Rapids. At Melvin's request there will be no public services. Private family burial of his cremated remains will be at Lisbon Cemetery, Lisbon. Arrangements are by Stewart Baxter Funeral & Memorial Services, Cedar Rapids. Survivors include his wife, Linda of Lisbon; sister, Lois Comer of Marion; and 18 nieces and nephews. Melvin was born October 31, 1925, in Stanwood, Iowa, the son of Herbert and Ann (Martin) Crocker. He graduated from Lisbon High School in 1994, and on March 2, 1963, he married Linda Clark in Iowa City. He owned and operated Mel's Service ' Auto & Truck Services in Lisbon for many years, in addition to being a truck driver and school bus driver. Mel retired as a correctional officer for the Iowa State Men's Reformatory in Anamosa. Mel will be remembered as a purveyor of antiques and collectibles who enjoyed going to auctions and organizing his treasures. He also liked to cruise on his motorcycle and ride his lawn mower around the yard. Mel was a member of the Lisbon United Methodist Church, Masons Crescent Lodge No. 25, Apollo Commandery No. 25K.T., Trowel Chapter No. 49 R.A.M., Palestine Council No. 27 R & S.M., El Kahir Temple AAonms, Iowa Research Lodge No. 2 A.S.&A.M. and was past Master Unit of the El Kahir Temple, Malta Chapter #415. He was preceded in death by his parents.
Mel was always my “go-to” man when it came to auto repair. I remember having an accident with my pickup truck. The insurance company wouldn’t pay the cost of the repair of my power steering. Mel said “don’t worry–maybe the steering will work once the front end is fixed.” Sure enough, the power steering came back with his front end repair work. Mel was a good friend and a whiz bang auto repair expert.
Dear Linda, We were sorry to hear of Melvin’s passing, and wanted to let you know we are thinking about you during this sad time. He will surely be missed. With the utmost sincerity, Dean and Kathy Luze at the Viking Sewing Center in Vinton