John William Melski, MD

John W. Melski died peacefully in Ithaca, NY, on August 4, 2026, age 79, in the company of his beloved wife Linda.

He was born in Teaneck, NJ, on December 10, 1946, to William Eugene Melski and Blanche Catherine Moszczynski. He married Linda Elin Midboe in 1967, and together they were parents to three children: David Gordon (David), Katherine Jayne (Kasey), and John Eric (Eric).

John matriculated from Dartmouth College in the class of 1968 and from Johns Hopkins Medical School in 1972. He enjoyed a long career at Marshfield Clinic in Wisconsin as a Doctor of Dermatology, a Physician-Teacher, and a Director of Clinical Informatics. Notable achievements include helping to isolate the germ that until 2016 was the only known cause of Lyme disease in North America and being part of the team who diagnosed and published the first cases of monkeypox in the Western Hemisphere. His colleagues and residents quote him to this day; his patients found him to be extremely knowledgeable, yet down to earth and approachable.

John’s early adoption of computers permeated both his professional and personal life. Each of his children pursued their own careers in programming after getting their start on a TRS-80 computer at home, following their father’s example and encouragement. However, he always recognized the importance of the human element in the application of technology. In 2008 he was noted in the New York Times article “Health Care That Puts a Computer on the Team” as saying that there is no payoff to technology alone – only in people using technology wisely.

Upon attending a Unitarian Universalist service in 1977, John (a lapsed Roman Catholic) and Linda (a lapsed Protestant) “knew immediately that we had found our spiritual home” when the opening reading was how to prepare soup for 2,000 Boston Marathoners. They had found “a place where people could laugh while earnestly trying to run the good race ... while being watched by stone angels in a Gothic church” at First Unitarian Society of Newton in Massachusetts.

He retired in 2016, and after showing early signs of what was later discovered to be Alzheimer’s disease, John and his wife moved in 2020 to Ithaca, NY, where their daughter could take on more supportive roles. Their sons in California and New Zealand provided support from afar and the family has remained in regular contact.

Eventually John and Linda moved into a home with additional assistance. Even as he required more care over time than he could give back, John remained a gift of kindness and laughter to those around him.

John’s family and friends will remember his sense of humor (corny, pun-filled, and very nerdy), his philosophy of life (extremely practical, but grounded in the belief that we should care for each other), and his daily acts of loving service (like dishing out ice cream for everyone).

John is survived by his wife Linda Melski; their children David Melski, Kasey Kruser, and Eric Melski; and their granddaughter Audrey Melski. He is also survived by his sister Christine Gebauer, but predeceased by his parents and his sister Jean Pickave.

His interment at Greensprings Natural Cemetery Preserve in Newfield, NY, was coordinated by Lansing Funeral Home.

A memorial service has not yet been planned, but messages to the family may be sent to remembering_john@melski.net.

John spent his life planting seeds for future generations, both metaphorically in the ways he impacted those who knew him, and also literally in the gardens he grew and the forests he tended. If you feel so inclined, please plant a tree in his memory, or make a donation to The Arbor Day Foundation (https://www.arborday.org).