Donna Melson Arthur
"My older sister Donna died on December 31, 2004. She fought a valiant battle against breast cancer. She will always remain
in my heart and remains an inspiration for me. To this day I still miss the ability to send her a quick email or to plan a visit to her house. It just all
seems too bizarre that I can no longer do that."
Denver Blue sky on the morning of Donna's funeral.
Without Donna and Sam's (living husband) help, I would not have been able to get married (I needed a sponsor) and I would not have a beautiful son along with my wife.
She means more to me than almost everything in life. I think about her ever day.
It is amazing that one person can affect you so much. She lived in Denver with
her family, husband and two daughters (now off to college and medical school).
The last time I saw Donna was at my father's 75th birthday party in California.
We all had an excellent time, but I never thought this would be the last time
that I would see her.
Whenever I visited her in Denver, the weather always did amazing things. A
blizzard in May. 70 degrees Christmas. You can always depend on Denver to keep
you on your toes. During Denver trips, at least at sometime during the trip,
the sky would have a deep blue color.
That is one thing about Denver and Donna that I will never forget...
God Bless You Donna!
Obituaries
From the Denver Post/Rocky Mountain News:
ARTHUR, DONNA MELSON
Donna Melson Arthur, 49, passed away peacefully on December 31, 2004. She was
born on March 8, 1955 in Waltham, MA and lived in Denver for the past 25 years.
Donna practiced law in Denver for 17 years, most recently working in the
Enforcement Division of the US Environmental Protection Agency. Donna will be
deeply missed by those who knew her and remembered as a loving and supportive
wife, mother, daughter, sister, and friend. She is survived by her husband of
25 years, Robert S. Arthur, Jr.; her two daughters, Caroline Lyle Arthur and
Kristin Leigh Arthur; her father and his wife, Robert and Nancy Melson; her
mother, Joan Melson; and her two brothers, John (Eva) Melson and Peter (Jeanne)
Melson. Services will be held at 1pm on Friday, January 7 in the Fairmount
Mortuary Chapel. In lieu of flowers, please send donations to the Susan G.
Komen Breast Cancer Foundation, PO Box 650309, Dallas, TX 75265-0309
Published in the Denver Newspaper Agency on 1/5/2005.
From the Brown Alumni Magazine May/June 2005:
Donna Melson Arthur ’77, of Englewood, Colo.; Dec. 31, of
breast cancer. She was a senior enforcement attorney for the U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency for seven years. She was previously an attorney at PRC, an
environmental consulting firm, for two years, and was an attorney at Davis
Grahm and Stubbs, a Denver law firm, for three years. She earlier did contract
accounting work and was an accountant at Main Hurdman. She is survived by her
husband, Robert ’76, 5101 S. Han- over St., Englewood 80111;
two daughters, including Caroline ’03; her father, Robert
Melson; her mother, Joan Melson; two brothers; and cousins including
Donald Melson
’75.
