Melching, Lillian

1938 - 2021

Lillian Marlene Patchen

Melching, of Worthington,

Ohio, passed peacefully in her sleep on August 26, 2021, at Kobacker House in Columbus, OH. Born September

27, 1938, in Steubenville,

Ohio to Joseph and Josephine Patchen, graduating from Catholic

Central High School in 1956, Lil trained to be an

RN at Good Samaritan

Hospital School of Nursing,

Zanesville, Ohio completing her education in 1959. She began her nursing career in Obstetrics, first at Gill

Memorial Hospital then St

John’s Hospital in Steubenville

from 1959-1963. She married Kenneth Herman

Melching of Wintersville on April 20, 1963, at Holy

Rosary Church in Steubenville.

The newly married couple then moved to

Maryland where Lil continued nursing at Providence

Hospital, Washington D.C., where both of her children were born; eldest Kenneth

Joseph Melching July 23, 1964, and youngest

Timothy Gerard Melching

March 23, 1968. They moved to Columbus, Ohio in 1978 where Lil was employed at the Columbus

Developmental Center as a

Psychiatric Nurse Administrator

before transferring to the Ohio Department of

Health where she was a

Healthcare Facility Surveyor and Regulatory Compliance

Reviewer. Lil retired in 2009 after 31 years of stellar service. She continued to stay in touch with her many, many friends, who all enjoyed spending the entire year shopping for the next Christmas Season. Lil is survived by her beloved husband of 58 years, Ken; her sons and grandchildren, who she loved more than life itself; Kenneth, wife, Tina and children,

Thomas, Amelia and Elizabeth

Melching of Charlotte,

NC; Timothy, wife, Eliza and child, Gabriel Melching of Melbourne, Australia; brother, Richard and Ellin

Patchen, children, Joseph,

Sarah and Elizabeth; sister, Patricia and Robert

Irwin, children, Brian and

Jessica; sister-in-law, Jackie

Beasley, children, Chuck and Lisa; and her lifelong friends, Carmella, Flora,

Joan, Paula, Rita and Dianna

among so many more.

Lil never met a person she did not genuinely embrace.

She was loyal to her friends beyond measure, and they returned her love by being at her side right up to the end. Thank you to her doctors at The Ohio State

University who prolonged her life allowing her the opportunity to watch three of her beloved grandchildren graduate college, travel to Australia for her son’s wedding and meet her youngest grandson.

She lived her life by the motto ‘Measure your wealth in the love of your family and friends not in monetary gain’ and never let anyone leave her home without being fed! We will all miss her – her laugh, generosity, company, hospitality, hugs, and kisses. Visitation will be Monday, August 30, 2021, from 4-7PM at

SCHOEDINGER DUBLIN, 5980 Perimeter Drive. A

Mass of Christian Burial will be observed Tuesday at 10AM at Our Lady of Peace

Catholic Church, 20 E Dominion

Blvd., Columbus. To leave online condolences