Melvin Blazer, 80, Was Actor and Outdoorsman

Melvin Blazer, longtime summer visitor to Menemsha, died peacefully Jan. 12 in Warwick, R.I., after a long struggle with multiple sclerosis. He was 80.

Mel was born in Providence, R.I., and educated in the local schools, where his interest in performing began. He was graduated from Hope High School in the class of l941. He was an active member of his class reunion committee and kept in touch with classmates in the near and far corners of the world. Mel was delighted to see some of these buddies appear at his 80th birthday surprise party.

During World War II he served as a pharmacist's mate in the U.S. Navy on a destroyer escort in the South Pacific. Following the war he entered the University of Rhode Island and rekindled his interest in the theatre, acting in a number of Shakespearean plays. He was a member of AEPII fraternity. He majored in business and received his bachelor of science degree in l951.

Mel and his new bride, Lois, moved to Warwick, building a house that became their home for 52 years, raising their three children and many beloved dogs throughout their years together. He was rarely seen without one of the dogs at his side.

As Mel established himself in business as a manufacturers' representative in the jewelry industry in Rhode Island, he continued to act in little theatre around the state, even appearing in a New York City Opera touring company production - a bit part, but in full tights!

Mel was affiliated with Temple Beth El in Providence for many years. Earlier, he and his wife were instrumental in establishing Temple Beth Am in Warwick and were founding members of Temple Sinai in Cranston. While at Beth El, Mel joined their troupe of players. A memorable performance there was his comic role as the slick Hollywood director in Neil Simon's Plaza Suite.

Music also played a big part in Mel's life: classical, especially opera; jazz - he did play the saxophone in his youth; Broadway show tunes, often crafting his own lyrics. His most recent performance, this past summer, was an impromptu solo and TV interview featured on the late news, where he sang Moon River, expressing his joy at cruising the transformed Providence River for Waterfire, a confluence of crackling bonfires, spectacular skyline, symphonic surround-sound, riverwalk strollers waving and tossing flowers down on them as the boat passed under the bridges.

An animal lover as well as a nature lover, Mel was able to become certified as a docent at Roger Williams Park Zoo in Providence. His"final" in the program hinged on researching a nearly extinct bird, the NeNe, a rare goose that had lost its ability to fly. The only remaining colony was on a volcano in Hawaii. Fortunately for him, a trip had been planned to that very locale, the island of Maui, where he was able to gather his facts first-hand, with photos. Not surprisingly, he got an A.

Mel was the epitome of the avid outdoorsman. He pursued every outdoor activity with vigor, extreme weather conditions notwithstanding. He was not deterred by tennis in 112-degree heat, nor golf on New Year's Day in ice and snow, nor fishing in near-hurricane conditions. He played hard at tennis, bicycling and swimming, often on the same day. Hardly anything pleased him more than an early game at Angel's up-Island courts, then cycling entirely around the Island, followed by a long swim out of Menemsha. The bracing waters of the North Shore invigorated him. Getting across the sand became more difficult each summer, but Mel never gave up. One season he used his ski poles, another, a special cart. The next year he was pulled and pushed along on a surfboard, then on a boat trailer, amid gales of laughter, the loudest his own. When he was finally able to get down to the water with ease in that rolling beach chair, provided by the generosity of caring Vineyarders, Mel had a few bonus seasons of the most pleasurable and therapeutic swims. He was forever grateful and pleased that others are continuing to enjoy the chair.

Back in the days when he was agile and sure-footed, Mel and Lois hiked and climbed and skied with the Yankee Trailers in Rhode Island and Connecticut and with the Appalachian Mountain Club in New Hampshire and Vermont. He was also able to explore the peaks and valleys of Israel, Hawaii, Alaska, California and Arizona, visiting some Vineyard friends along the way.

Mel cherished his Island pals. He recently recounted these memories and wanted each of them to know that he held them as some of the best reminiscinces of his life: riding the waves with them at Squibnocket; sailing with them around the Elizabeth Islands, to Nantucket, from Narragansett Bay and back again when the winds were right, plus one memorable trip through the Cape Cod Canal; swordfishing with them around Noman's and beyond; digging clams with them at secret spots in Menemsha Pond. Dining with them on fish fresh from the seas and vegetables fresh from the gardens; imbibing with them on the beaches or on the decks, the host or the guest, congeniality ruled. He was a willing regular at yearly Lobsterville clambakes and a spotty regular for the weekly potluck down at the Menemsha docks. Mel had developed an unusual camaraderie with some Aquinnah folks and he counted a good number of Menemsha people as the finest kind of friends and neighbors. He enjoyed attending services and some special programs at the Martha's Vineyard Hebrew Center, where he always had a warm welcome. He and his family have had year-round pleasure from being surrounded by photographs and paintings of Menemsha done by a number of Island artists dear to him.

Mel's indefatigable spirit propelled him through a series of surgeries and complications, but he was amazingly resiliant and nothing ever got him down for long. He was known to the medical community as "the comeback kid." His sharp memory and his positive mental attitude were extraordinary. His courage and unfailing good humor touched all who have had the good fortune to travel along the path with him.

He leaves a loving and devoted family: his wife, Lois, his daughter and son in law, Stacey and Steve Chaffee of East Greenwich, R.I.; daughter Karen Blazer of Montpelier, Vt.; son Stuart Blazer and granddaughter, Sofia, of Little Compton, R.I., and Terceira, Azores.

Donations may be made to the Martha's Vineyard Hebrew Center or the Multiple Sclerosis Society, Rhode Island Chapter.