Tuffy was born on July 19, 1936, in Beatrice, California as the first child of 5 to Harold and Frances Melvin. Tuffy grew up primarily in Klamath. He had countless fond memories of time spent as a child on the family’s Hancorne Ranch in the Bald Hills alongside his siblings, parents, and great grandmother. It was an idyllic time and place, and he loved to recall the many childhood adventures they enjoyed together.Tuffy wed Shirley Perkins in Crescent City in February of 1956, and they were happily married for 63 years until her passing in August of 2019. Each evening when he came home from work was an event, first, he would go straight to Mom and dance her around the kitchen and punctuate it with a hug and loud kiss. Then he immediately followed that with what Mom referred to as, “riling up the kids”. Which, we kids adored. He was lucky in love and had never lived alone prior to the death of his wife, unsurprisingly he had some difficulty adjusting to the void she left behind. Tuffy and Shirley had three daughters, Ginny, Janet, and Diane, and enjoyed their children’s growing up years very much. We sisters always teased him that he needed a son to go out and get greasy in the garage with him, but he was happy to have his 3 girls. Lots of family fun, DIY projects and silliness prevailed in the household. Once, when working on a home repair that required that he remove a section of floor and scoop out wheelbarrows full of silt (remnants of the 64 flood), from under the house — he met a new friend of Mom’s at the front door while on his way out with a full wheelbarrow of dirt — when seeing the surprise on her face, he quipped, “Shirley wouldn’t clean, so I had to take matters into my own hands.”. Mom was more mortified than amused, but her friend loved the joke.Tuffy was born with an aptitude for all things mechanical, and so naturally became a mechanic. From the time he was a tot, he was obsessed with all sorts of vehicles and machinery, especially large equipment. He spent the majority of his working years as a LeTourneau mechanic and appeared to love every single minute of it, he most definitely found his perfect career. Anyone who was acquainted with Tuffy knew him to be a serious (and serial) hobbyist and enthusiastic collector of all sorts of good and useful stuff. He had been bitten by the model railroad bug in the early 1950s, and his interest never waned. Along the way he accumulated many skills / additional hobbies and was a consummate DIYer — sometimes from necessity, but partly from an unending quest to learn how to do all-the-things. He succeeded in passing this DIY-ness to his daughters. Additionally, he was a skilled carpenter, electrician, plumber, and all-around handy guy.He is survived by daughter Janet Melvin of Eureka, CA; daughter Ginny Gromer (& Rich) of Roseburg, OR; granddaughter Emma Cummings of San Francisco, CA, grandson Seth Cummings of Eureka, CA; and his beloved brother Robbie Melvin of Klamath, CA. He is also survived by his close companion Kit Wheeler of Crescent City, whom we thank sincerely for the abundance of happiness & care she brought to the final years of his life. Ginny & Janet want to extend an especially warm and grateful thanks to Dad’s good friend and all-around awesome guy, Bill McClung, who has generously provided so much invaluable assistance to us. Tuffy was preceded in death by parents, Harold & Frances Melvin; wife, Shirley; daughter Diane Cummings; sister, Darlene (Sis); brothers Kenneth (Corky) and Don. Dad was a sociable guy and will be missed by many. All family and friends of Tuffy are invited to a casual memorial gathering to be held at Florence Keller Park on Sunday, July 17 from 1pm to 4pm (ish). Anyone having questions please contact Ginny or Janet. Ginny 707-358-0208 / ginpins@gmail.com — or — Janet 707-441-1704 / melvinjanet@gmail.com To plant a tree in memory of Raymond Melvin as a living tribute, please visit Tribute Store. googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('ad-1515727'); });