Melvin Kohlreiter died peacefully in Warminster, PA on February 21st after a brief battle with cancer. The beloved husband, father, and World War II veteran was 100 years old.
Born January 20, 1924 in New Jersey, Mel spent his formative years in Teaneck. He was enrolled in a high school aviation program when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. One month later, on his 18th birthday, he enlisted in the United States Navy, intending to become a pilot. Instead, lacking the requisite two years of college, he was trained to service and repair warplanes. Subsequent instruction in aerial gunnery, dive-bombing, and specialized maintenance took him to various locations up and down the East Coast throughout 1942.
In 1943 he was assigned to the Navy’s newest aircraft carrier USS Franklin, which was headed for the Pacific. Before the Franklin reached the Panama Canal, however, Mel was transferred to an airbase on the Island of Trinidad, where his expertise in servicing variable pitch propellors was sorely needed. Additional duties included hunting German U-boats as a gunner and observer in a dive bomber.
When the Navy ran short of officer pilots, Mel joined an elite group of enlisted men trained to fly, finally donning the aviator’s wings he coveted. He served in that capacity for the remainder of the War.
Soon after his honorable discharge, he met 16-year-old Lorraine Dern at a 1947 YMCA dance in Jersey City. It was love at first sight. On their first date, Mel took her flying around the Statue of Liberty in a rented plane, only to have engine failure force him to ditch in Bayonne Bay. The plane subsequently sank, and their rescue made headlines in every area newspaper and TV news report.
Despite this misadventure, the two were soon engaged. They married on June 5, 1949. Together they raised a family, traveled the world, befriended celebrities such as Perry Como, competed in equestrian events, and figure skated together for many years. Mel excelled at many jobs, including car salesman (alongside a young Jack Lord), small business owner, and, into his eighties, he was the go-to real estate agent in Palm Beach, Florida.
Over his one hundred years Mel survived attacks on U-boats, emergency plane landings, a near fatal automobile accident, triple bypass surgery, and a tricky negotiation with a Maasai warrior in Kenya who offered to buy Lorraine in exchange for a cow. He was a pilot, scuba diver, figure skater, golfer, tennis player, and equestrian. His strength, mental sharpness, and impish sense of humor amazed everyone who met him, right up to the end.
Mel was preceded in death by his son Steven and his sister Audrey Weinberg. He is survived by Lorraine, his wife of 74 years, his daughter Vicki Hughes, granddaughters Lisa Rossmann, Lindsey Leonard, and Diane Steiner, his great grandchildren Dylan Rossmann, Duke Leonard, Sophia Steiner, and Justin Steiner, as well as the many extended family members and friends who found his charm irresistible.
Services will be held 9:00 AM March 1, 2024, at Washington Crossing National Cemetery, 830 Highland Road, Newtown, PA 18940.