Obituary of F. Dean

F. Dean Melton Commander, USN Retired Dean Melton has slipped the surly bonds of earth, and is flying freely again. Dean was born in Denver, Colorado, on June 11, 1928, to Lillian Gilliland Melton and Joseph Thomas Melton. Dean always had a passion to fly airplanes. After graduating from high school in Kansas City, Missouri, he was able to enroll in a Navy program which allowed him to go to college and then serve in the Navy’s flight program. This was the beginning of a long career, flying military aircraft off carriers at sea, and later testing planes for the FAA. During his flight training program, Dean married his high school sweetheart, Patricia Cockerell, on December 23, 1948. After receiving his wings, he was assigned to the Valley Forge 194th Squadron out of Oakland, California. Dean deployed to Korea on the Valley Forge carrier in 1951. He flew many missions for the Navy during the Korean War, earning the National Defense Service Ribbon, the Korean Service Medal, the Korean Presidential Unit Citation, and the United Nations Service Medal. Upon his return to the U.S., he was stationed in Pensacola, Florida, as a flight instructor, and then re-assigned to the VX-3 Squadron in New York. Dean decided to discharge from the Navy in1957, and took a flight-testing job with the FAA in New York. He was chosen to participate in the Air Force test pilot program in Lancaster, California. Dean was the first civilian to be invited into this program. Some of his classmates went on to become astronauts, and later flew to the moon. After participating in this program, Dean took a flight-testing job in Los Angeles with the FAA, and then switched to North American Aviation for a short time. Among the planes he tested, Dean flew the infamous “Hover Buggy,” which was a precursor to the lunar landing craft. By this time, he and Pat had three sons. The family spent six happy years in southern California, enjoying the beaches and camping in the Sequoia National Forest. In 1967, Dean took a position with the FAA in Seattle, Washington, as a test pilot. The family moved to Bellevue, Washington, and Dean introduced Patricia and the boys to new activities, such as skiing and sailing. Dean became almost as passionate about sailing as he was about flying. Dean was the FAA project pilot on the Boeing 727, 737,747,757, and 767 certification programs. He was promoted to Chief of Flight Test in the FAA Transport Directorate. Dean certified planes for foreign aircraft companies to enable their planes to land in the U.S. This job allowed Dean and Pat to become world travelers. Dean retired from the FAA in 1988. He and Pat moved to LaConner, Washington. His retirement years were filled with enjoyable pursuits: sailing in the San Juan Islands, helping his sons on their various projects, creative work with wood and glass in his basement work room, and helping to maintain the church building and grounds at Mount Vernon Presbyterian Church. Dean passed away on October 11, 2013, at Merrill Gardens in Olympia, Washington. Preceding him in death were his parents and his brother, Joe. He is survived by his wife, Pat; sons, Steve, Buck, and Joe; 17 grandchildren; and 11 great grandchildren. Military Commitment Service will be Friday, October 25, 2013, 11:15 a.m., at Shelter 4, Tahoma National Cemetery in Kent, Washington. A memorial service is scheduled for the following day, October 26, 2013. This service will take place at Mount Vernon Presbyterian Church in Mount Vernon, Washington, at 1:00 p.m. Memorial donations may be made to the Salvation Army, the Red Cross, or the Mount Vernon Presbyterian Church. More information can be found at www.mypres.com, or by calling the church at (360) 424-7675. Please leave memories of Dean or condolences for his family in the Guestbook below.