Melvin Francis McKinnon passed away at the age of 95. Heslipped away peacefully at Hoag Memorial Hospital in Newport Beach after an 8 day battle with Covid-19. He died on Thursday, December 3, 2020 at 8:35 PM.

Melvin was born on May 5, 1925 at 4:20 PM in Hollywood, CA.His parents were Alexander Joseph McKinnon(Scottish descent) and Marie Antoinette Girard (French descent).Alexander was born in Canada and a carpenter by trade.In fact, Mel's father built the home he was raised in from birth until the time he was married.The home was in the Atwater district of Los Angeles near Griffith Park.His mother, we affectionately called Memom, was a housewife from Chicago, Illinois.Mel was one of 4 children.He had an older brother named Donald Joseph, a younger brother named Alexander Vincent (Brownie) and a younger sister named Marie Antoinette.

He was raised as a Catholic and attended Catholic Schools, including Cathedral High School.He had many stories for us girls about how the stern nuns swatted kids with a ruler across the back of the hand for any petty infractions.He was a gifted writer and worked as an editor for Sports on the "Chimes Monthly," his High Schools newspaper.His High School yearbook reports that he drovethe "black streak" to school each day so that it became a permanent fixture there during his 4 years of attendance.When he was not working at the gas station or fixing up his car, he delighted in dabbling with tennis, collecting records and homing pigeons!He was a frequent member of the honor roll and planned an army career.Mel graduated high school in June of 1943.

Instead of the army, Mel joined the Navy during WWII on June 23, 1943, following in the the footsteps of his older brother Donald.He served as Radioman Second Class under Rear Admiral William H.P. Blandy. Here, he again used his gift of communication, sending Morris Code messages as directed by the Admiral.During this time, he was stationed on the USS Estes AGC-12 and the USS Fremont APA-44. The Fremont departed Pearl Harbor for the Marshall Islands and coordinated with the Air Force, Army and Marines to successfully take over the Island.While on board the Estes, they served as control center for the pre-invasion bombardment and underwater demolition teams preparing the beaches of Iwo Jima and Okinawa for the upcoming assaults.He was honorably discharged on April 7, 1946.

After serving his country, he returned home to Los Angeles, and met his future wife, our Mom.Her name was Barbara Jean Halls.One day, he went for an ice cream at a shoppe called "Coast" and she happened to be working there.Since he liked her friendly attitude and smile, they began dating.OnFebruary 17, 1947, less than a year later, they were married at St. Mary's Catholic church in Los Angeles.Soon after, theywere able to buy a small, 2 bedroom home in Inglewood to begin their life together.Two years later, their first daughter, Diane was born.Two years went by and their second daughter, Kathy, was born.True to form, just over two years later, their third and final daughter, Debbie, was born.The small home was definitely cramped for a family of five so he purchased a brand new, 3 bedroom home in Garden Grove.Orange groves were cut down to make room for this new development and three trees were left in our backyard to bear delicious fruit each year.

Mel worked his way up in the grocery business from clerk to store manager.He began his grocery career at a chain called Raisins and ended it at a chain called Bargain Basket.He taught his daughters the value of a dollar, to work hard and be honest.He taught us about God, took us to church, and Catechism,made sure we were Baptized, had Holy Communion and Confirmation.He taught us to love and cherish family.In his spare time he became quite competent at chess, and enjoyed figuring the odds and betting on horse racing. He also enjoyed an occasional vacation to Las Vegas with the family to play Black Jack.He often took us to see his favorite baseball team, the Anaheim Angels.In fact, he was a lifelong fan of the Angels as long as they were winning.Other teams he enjoyed, due to his Catholic background, were St. Mary's College Basketball, Notre Dame College Football and Mater Dei High School Football.He enjoyed going to these high school games or watching them on TV with his daughter Kathy and Son-in-Law Rick.In 1970 he and his wife were divorced.This was undoubtedly the biggest disappointment of his life and certainly not his desire.

On the bright side, this allowed him to begin a new career in real estate.He began this second career at Ellis/Schrader Real Estate and ended as owner and broker of Mariner Real Estate.It was during his time at Ellis/Schrader that he met a lifelong friend, here today, named Victoria Bruno.After his divorce, he rented in Anaheim for a short time and soon purchased a townhouse in Garden Grove.He kept himself busy during these years working, jogging and playing league tennis. He ran 10K races with his youngest daughter Debbie.Then later, he took up Bridge which he patiently taught to his middle daughter, Kathy. He also enjoyed Sudoku puzzles, Crypto quotes, Skip-Bo and shopping for bargains at the 99 Cent Store.Successfully investing in the stock Market was also a serious past-time of his.

In 2010, at the age of 85 he sold his home in Garden Grove and bought one in Huntington Beach.This allowed him to be closer to family and his friend Victoria.He lived there until about May of 2018 when he was no longer strong enough to live on his own.This was another big disappointment for him.He really enjoyed his independence and had routines that he found very satisfying. As a side note, he continued driving and selling real estate until he was over 90 years of age. He continued trading on the New York Stock Exchange until just months before his death.

Mel is survived by his 3 daughters Diane, Kathy and Debbie and their spouses, Ed, Rick and Gary, respectively.He leaves behind 4 grandchildren, Jack III and his spouse Joy,Julie and her spouse Chris, David, Jenna and her spouse Prescott. In Addition he leaves behind 8 great-grandchildren, Jack IV, Jacie, Kristin and her husband Nick, Kameryn, Brayden, Brooklyn, Ethan, Everett and Harlan.Mel even leaves behind a great- great grandchild named Kinsley.In addition, he leaves behind 4 nephews, David, Dennis, Duane, and Robert as well as two nieces, Melanie and Nancy.

Mel is predeceased by his brothers Donald and Vince McKinnon, his sister Marie McKinnon, his ex-wife, Jean McKinnon, his grand-daughter Jennifer Cornish Williams, and his nephews Donnie and Darren McKinnon.

Mel will be buried on Tuesday, December 15, at 11:30 AM at El Toro Memorial Park in Lake Forest.There will be Military Funeral Honors and a Pastoral Commentary from Compass Bible Church at the grave-site.Due to Covid restrictions, attendance is very limited.McCormick and Son Mortuary is in charge of the arrangements. Please call (949) 768-9033for more information.

Thank you to Beach Homes and the entire staff for taking such good care of Mel over the last 2 1/2 years.You spoiled him with his iced coffees and ice cream.Also, thank you to Hoag Hospital and Staff and Hospice Team for their excellent and compassionate care during his last week of life.Most importantly, thank you God for blessing him with 95 years of life and allowing us so many years to love and enjoy him.

Four words that we would like to leave you with that best describe him are hard working, dependable, honest and focused. When his friend Victoria thinks of Mel she thinks most of how he loved and adored each of his daughters.He appreciated each of us in a different way.He truly loved and adored Victoria's friendship as well.