WILMINGTON — Melvin Alan “Butch” Motte, age 75, passed to be with his Savior, early in the morning, June 21st 2025 with his family by his side. Always referring to himself as an Army brat, he was born on January 23, 1950, at the Fort Hood Army Base in Killeen, Texas. He eventually carried on his father‘s military legacy and served his country as a member of the United States Air Force.
He is preceded in death by his parents, George David Motte and Mert Lee Tedder Motte; stepmother, Bernice Motte; brother, Wayne Motte; aunts, Allene, Mildred, and Gwen; and uncle, Thomas.
Alan will be greatly missed by his wife of almost 42 years, Phyllis Motte; daughters, Heather Edwards and Tonya Ballard; sister, Gloria Hill; and grandchildren Jordon Ballard, Justin Edwards, Olivia Talton, and David Talton; as well as his “family” that was not given, but chosen: Donna VanVliet, Michael Edwards, Charles and Linda Harrell, Larry Paramore, Jody Hutcheson, and all the guys at the shop he spent many Saturdays with restoring old cars.
He always had a way of making everybody feel like a friend, and that shined through in his admirable 30 year career as alignment specialist at Fountain Tire. Anyone that knew him loved him, including his customers there. Alan had a way of building a community everywhere he went.
Anyone that knew Alan, fondly remembers his tales of yesteryear and his tireless energy. Above all else he loved nothing more than spending time with his wife, whether it was taking road trips or just running errands around town. But you can bet, their busy days always stopped when it came to Tar Heel basketball, or Friday night dates to Dry Dock and later Big Daddy‘s. When he wasn’t with Phyllis, you could always find him “tinkering” in his shop. His daughters remember him teaching them so much about sports, as well as everything there was that could be learned about working on cars. His grandchildren remember going with him to car shows, riding dirt bikes, and being that energetic fan on the sidelines of every sport they ever played. He was without fail going to have a blue Gatorade waiting.
He without a doubt lived life fully to his last day. He enjoyed caring for his wife, as she did him. He would describe his diagnosis of stage four metastatic cancer as affecting him about like a hangnail – an observation Heather gave his doctor one day stuck with him. Cancer never stopped him from anything he had his mind set on. He continued to make visits with friends and family until his last hospitalization. And when he wasn’t there, they were checking on him.
The family would like to thank those who called and visited while he was in the hospital. Alan took the opportunity to make sure they knew they were special, told each of them what they meant to him.
Special appreciation is extended to Wilmington Health Associates Drs. Shannon Haenel and Hector Sanchez for not only their excellent care, but especially for their special off duty visits filled with compassion and even a bedside prayer. They don’t make many docs like this anymore!
