Arlene Patton Mellor Bradshaw

Bradshaw, Arlene Patton Mellor

Arlene Patton Mellor Bradshaw, "Pat" as she was called growing up, and "Mom" for the past 63 years, passed away on April 4, 2016, and Oh Boy did she have a great life. Arlene was born on March 31,1927, the daughter of Mirteon and Gladys Patton, in Springfield Vermont, and for 89 years she remained a proud Vermonter, the rest of us were just flat landers. In grade school, if the boys dipped her pigtails in the inkwell, watch out, they often ended up with the black eye. When Springfield High School, which she graduated from in 1945, needed a school fight song, well, Arlene sat down and wrote it, then lead the cheers with her cheerleading crew. Upon graduating, she married her high school sweetheart John Mellor and moved to Ithaca, NY. For the next several years she helped support John as he completed degrees at Cornell University and Oxford College, in England. While in England they took plenty of time to tour the "continent" with friends (We weren't allowed to hear the real stories of those trips). In 1958 she and John built a house on Snyder Hill Road, designed by the renowned architectural firm Marcel Breuer and Associates. Arlene acted as the contractor and that beautiful home she loved still exhibits the hard work and care she put into it. She and John raised three boys there, Michael, Brian and Mark Mellor. The ensuing years included three sabbaticals in India, living within a bike ride of the Taj Mahal one year, in New Delhi the next two, trekking to the base camp of Mount Everest, summers in Kashmir, trips throughout Asia and Europe, one adventure after another, all the while dragging three boys around with her. Upon returns to Ithaca there were countless hours of hockey games with the boys, including 5am practices (thank you) and lots of skiing and sailing. Somehow she also made the time to help hundreds of others: Volunteering with Hospice, Suicide Prevention, League of Woman Voters, American Red Cross, Habitat for Humanity, the Ithaca Memorial Society and the Family Reading Program. In 1973, Arlene's life took another turn toward more adventures and experiences. She married Paul Bradshaw, who's IBM job took them to Savannah, Georgia. She moved there with Paul and his children, Arnold, Paula, Jeff and Claudia. In Savannah, Arlene took her yankee spirit with her and once again immersed herself with volunteer work as Chairperson for the local Chapter of the Red Cross. Those years led to taking up golf and scuba diving as well as more travels. In 1981 she returned to Ithaca and Snyder Hill Road, her real home. Time to settle down? No way. As you can imagine she jumped right back into her volunteer work in the Ithaca area, joined the Red Hatters, and a regular golf group, and back to skiing. Trips to China, Patagonia, Australia, Tunisia, Turkey and a train across Canada tried to satisfy her urge to travel. Last May she finally slowed down a little and moved to Longview. At Longview she started a rhyming club, participated in too many activities to name and reconnected with old friends and added many new ones. Other memories of family, friends, adventures and experiences will remind us of Mom as the years go by. It may be over now, but we told you, she had a great life! Arlene was predeceased by her husband Paul, sister Marjorie and her youngest son Mark. She is survived by her other sons, Michael (Barbara Monro) Lansing, NY, Brian (Mary Mello) Boston, MA, a granddaughter Caroline Mellor and Paul's children. The family will be greeting friends on Sunday April 17, 2016 from 11am until 1pm in the auditorium at Longview, Bella Vista Drive, Ithaca, NY. Please join us if you can to remember this mother, wife, friend and funny, caring, remarkably wonderful person.

Sunday, April 17, 2016 11:00 AM - 1:00 PM

Longview Auditorium 1 Bella Vista Drive Ithaca, NY 14850