Obituaries

Therese ‘Terry’ Pounds (Joiner): 1927-2024

Therese “Terry” Pounds (Joiner), 97, of Montclair, NJ died peacefully surrounded by family at Mountainside Hospital on Wednesday, September 11, 2024. Beloved mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, aunt, cousin and friend, Terry was born a ‘survivor,’ having lost her mother who died soon after her birth in 1927 in New York City. She subsequently lived all over the world as a self-described “army brat” after her father, Colonel Talley Dosier Joiner, remarried and reclaimed “his little Therese” from her aunts who raised her until she was six. After graduating from Columbia High School in Maplewood, NJ, Terry briefly attended college at Trinity, DC, then decided to go to Katharine Gibbs Secretarial School in NJ. The skills she learned there served her well at her first secretarial jobs in Manhattan, then later at Montclair Kimberly Academy in Montclair where she worked for almost twenty years in the Office of External Affairs. She was proud of her mastery of the rules of English grammar, and many relied on her to proofread their letters. After the death of her husband in 1978, Terry set up a Montclair chapter of THEOS, a nationwide non-denominational support group for widowed men and women. She ran the group for approximately ten years and created friendships from that work that lasted until her death. She was also involved with the Friends of Barnet and the Montclair Fine Arts Festival.

Terry was predeceased in death by her husband, Donald Pounds, her son Richard, her beloved companions, Arthur Jones and Fred Berinato, and her sisters Lucy and Claire. She is survived by her son Donald Pounds and his companion Patrice Holtzer, daughter Mary Pounds Sisler, daughter-in-law Bette Pounds, sons James Pounds (Bethany) and Thomas Pounds (Liljana), daughter Virginia Pounds, sons Michael Pounds (Catherine) and John Pounds. She was the proud grandmother of sixteen grandchildren and five great-grandchildren: Katy, Austin, Colleen, Connor, Jordan, Jason, Jeremy, Natalie, Anika, Evan, Noah, Ben, Eli, Max, Harper and Nolan; Scarlett, Emma, Carson, Peyton and Wesley. She is also survived by a large extended family and countless friends.

Funeral Services will be held on Saturday, November 9 at 10 a.m. at Immaculate Conception Church, 30 N. Fullerton Ave., Montclair, NJ 07042, followed by interment of ashes at Immaculate Conception Cemetery in Upper Montclair.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in Terry’s name to The Release Recovery Foundation at: https://donate.hakuapp.com/donations/new?fundraising_effort=in-loving-memory-of-therese-terry-pounds.

Julie A. Melzak

04/17/1950 - 10/31/2024

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Obituary For Julie A. Melzak

Julia A. “Julie” Melzak, age 74, of Sylvania, died October 31, 2024, at the Arbors of Sylvania. She was born April 17, 1950, in Toledo to the late Daniel and Cleo (Tuttle) Mathews. Julie graduated from St. Ursula Academy in 1968 and earned her bachelor’s degree in education with an emphasis in history from Ohio Dominican University in 1972. She married the love of her life Kenneth Melzak on June 21, 1975, and they spent more than 46 wonderful years together until Ken’s death on July 21, 2021.

Julie taught at St. Hedwig’s for 2-3 years and then substitute taught at St. Pat’s for nearly 20 years. In her free time, she kept busy baking, knitting, doing word searches and crossword puzzles, and reading, especially mystery and romance novels. She also loved animals of all kinds and enjoyed traveling, particularly to the beach or visits to New York City with her daughters. Julie adored the holidays and was known for decorating every room of her house according to the season. Her favorite was Christmas for which she began preparations in November. Animated and expressive, Julie had a unique ability to make people laugh. Her kind and caring personality offered an amazing motherly presence to her kids, guests in her home, and just about everyone she met. She was first and foremost dedicated to her husband and children and most recently her beloved grandchildren.

Left to cherish her memories are her children, Matt (Caitlyn) Melzak, Jen (Keevan) Hazel, Amanda (Gregg) Boeke, and Mike (Jenny) Melzak; grandchildren, Noah, Logan, Fox, Sam, Fawn, Charlie, Kenlyn, and Miles; and sister, Janet Caywood. Julie was also preceded in death by her brother, Ralph Mathews.

Visitation will be held on Monday, November 4, 2024, in the Walker Funeral Home, 5155 Sylvania Ave., Toledo, from 3:00 p.m. until the time of a scripture service at 7:00 p.m. Her funeral Mass will be celebrated at 10:30 a.m., Tuesday, November 5, 2024, at St. Patrick of Heatherdowns Catholic Church, 4201 Heatherdowns Blvd, Toledo, OH 43614. She will be laid to rest with her husband at Resurrection Cemetery.

Contributions in Julie’s name, in lieu of flowers, are suggested to the Toledo Area Humane Society, the American Cancer Society Melanoma Research Alliance, or the Melanoma Research Foundation.

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