Roald Andreas Melver passed away July 22, 2005.

He was born to Bernt and Astrid Melver in Seattle on Dec. 8, 1915, and spent most of his life around the Puget Sound area.

He was named for the Norwegian explorer, Roald Amundson, who had come to Puget Sound in 1915 to celebrate his reaching the North Pole.

Roald and his wife Elsie came to Greenbank in 1956 when they bought their farmstead from Gust and Hanna Embom. Their retirement home at the end of Leaf Lane was enjoyed from its construction in 1978 until 2003 when Elsie died.

Roald went to live with his older son, Ronald Melver, in Bend, Ore. in December 2003.

Roald spent his working years building planes for the Boeing Co., managing state parks as a ranger and serving the state as a weights-and-measures inspector.

He enjoyed history, a good Western novel, his collection of scales from all aspects of commerce, his family, his Norwegian Lutheran faith and the community at large.

When facing life’s challenges, Roald would always ask himself and those around him, “What can I do to help?”

His gentle ways and good humor were a joy to all who knew him. A lifelong granger, Roald had been a member of Deer Lagoon Grange, often heading up their booth at the Island County Fair.

Roald is survived by two sons, Ronald Melver of Bend, Ore. and John Melver of Maple Valley; nine grandchildren; five great grandchildren; his twin sister, Margaret Dakan of Edmonds; several nieces and nephews.

A funeral service will be held at Trinity Lutheran Church, Freeland at 1 p.m. on Thursday, Aug. 4, with internment in Bayview Cemetery.

Memorial gifts may be directed to Trinity Lutheran Church.