52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks - Week 34 "Character"

THE HUMOROUS MELBOURNE SCHULTE, SR.

My paternal uncle, Melbourne Schulte, Sr., was one of the most humorous people I knew.  He was a character of great proportions, always ready with a funny story, joke and a ready smile.  

Melbourne was born on September 27, 1920 in Detroit to Elmer Schulte and Ella Wellhausen.  He was happily welcomed into the Schulte family where photos were plentiful.  Here he is with his parents in early 1921:

Being the oldest of three children he was known for his spontaneous jokes and naughty behavior.  This photo in 1935 is a favorite of mine where he is shown with his younger brother, my father Mylen, and younger sister, Marilyn.  I'm sure his parents had to take another photo after this one:

In 1941 both my father and his brother, Melbourne, were ushers at the Rialto Theatre on Gratiot Avenue in Detroit.  They were both proud of the uniforms they wore:

When I was born in 1948, my Uncle Mel became my godfather and that was an honor that he carried with him his entire life.  I can still remember in his later years, when he would call me from Arizona where he and my aunt retired, that he would begin the conversation by saying "this is your godfather calling".  I was very close to him his entire life.  Here we are in 1948:

My uncle was a barber as was my father.  Here he is in 1950 in the Barber Shop he ran on Gratiot Avenue in Detroit:

Always the prankster he never lacked for some way to amuse people.  In 1970 at a gathering at my parent's home he played a joke on his Uncle George Wellhausen by picking him up without difficulty.  At least he didn't drop him:

Through the years we were constantly in touch even during the many years that he and my aunt lived in Arizona.  Telephone calls were weekly, I baked him the favorite cookies that he and my aunt enjoyed and would mail them to Arizona causing him to choke at the price of the postage.  He would always say "don't send us any cookies" but I always would and he was always appreciative as was my aunt.

After the death of my aunt he was lost.  They had been married just 2 months short of 70 years and Arizona was no longer a joy for him.  In 2013 he returned to Michigan to live with his son and daughter-in-law and in January of that year my mother and I visited him.  Here he is with my mother:

He had aged but he was still the humorous uncle that I knew and loved.  He passed away on April 9, 2013 and I miss him to this day.  A warm, loving uncle and godfather and a character to the end.

Copyright 2021, Cheryl J. Schulte