CALABASH — Melvin Leroy Hiltabidel, 81, passed away Thursday, Aug. 6, 2020, at Lower Cape Fear LifeCare Center after a brief illness. Mel passed peacefully with his son, Joe, at his side.
Born Oct. 5, 1938, in Barberton, Ohio, Melvin was a son of the late Charles and Esther Cross Hiltabidel. In addition to his parents, Melvin was preceded in death by his loving wife of 41 years, Helen Norola Messinger Hiltabidel; brother, Ronald Hiltabidel; and sister, Thelma Jones.
He was a U.S. Navy veteran and retired from Rubbermaid Company after over 20 years of service. More recently, he was a devoted member of the Pleasant Plain Baptist Church, Little River, South Carolina, where he enjoyed singing in the choir. He was a lifelong fisherman and would drop a line in the water whenever he could. Melvin also loved deer hunting.
Melvin was blessed to find love again late in life and planned to marry his surviving fiancée, Betty Bennett of Calabash. Also surviving are two sons, Jody “Joe” Hiltabidel, (Shelly Simmons) of Travelers Rest, South Carolina, Arthur Engler, (Ron Kolanowski) of Storrs, Connecticut; daughter, Chris Rogers (Reggie) of San Diego, California; and eight grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.
No services are planned at this time.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests, with gratitude, that donations be made in his name to Lower Cape Fear Hospice LifeCare Center, 955 Mercy Lane, Bolivia, NC 28422; or Pleasant Plain Baptist Church, 1260 Highway 57 N, Little River, SC 29566.
Share online condolences with the family at Michael J. Fulwood Funeral Service Licensee.
