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- [S5] Obituary.
`Mel' Gamache's Passions Were Building, Music
By Mark Rahner
Seattle Times Staff Reporter
It may have been inevitable that the house John Melvin Gamache built with his own two hands on Carnation's Tolt Hill - his Xanadu - would be a reflection of the builder.
With rooms that jut out at odd angles like an improvised solo, assorted spiral staircases and an arbitrary second level of brick sandwiched between two stories of wood, the home stands out. Its many huge windows look out on the landscape with no curtains.
Those close to Mr. Gamache - family members called him "Mel" - remembered him yesterday as a multifaceted man with passions for building, music and his faith.
His wife, Margaret, remembered when he introduced himself to her three decades ago at a school in Kirkland where she taught first grade and he taught music.
"I had never met someone so open and so alive to someone he hadn't met," she said. "Anyone who came into contact with him could feel his dynamic personality."
Mr. Gamache died of cancer Saturday (Oct. 23) surrounded by family members. He was 77.
Born in Worcester, Mass., in 1922, Mr. Gamache spent two years in seminary school. During World War II he was a chaplain's secretary in the Army's 10th Mountain Division. In Italy, a bomb hit the building where his unit had been holed up, killing everyone but Mr. Gamache and another soldier.
Discharged with a Purple Heart, Mr. Gamache settled in Seattle, where he had fallen in love with the area's natural beauty while stationed at Fort Lewis.
He matriculated at the University of Washington and Seattle University, where he met his first wife and mother of his seven children, Virginia. During that time, he built a career in fish-food distribution and a business called Aquarium Maintenance.
He maintained his ties to the church through music as choir director in local parishes.
Mr. Gamache and Virginia later divorced. He married Margaret in 1976.
With talent inherited from his organist father - who also wrote music and conducted church choirs - and a fervor fueled by his church, Mr. Gamache sang and played guitar, oboe, recorder and harpsichord. He made his own reeds and harpsichords.
Because of the many relationships Mr. Gamache nurtured, more than 100 people attended his funeral yesterday.
The cedar, beech, sycamore and birch trees Mr. Gamache planted stand tall in the small parkland he carved out of scrub brush around the house.
"It's a wonderful tribute to a man who could do so many things in one small life," Margaret Gamache said.
He is also survived by his children, Emilie Schommer of Renton; John Gamache of Homer, Alaska; Jim Gamache of Seattle; Sue Corthell of Brewster, N.Y.; Katy Gaul of Vashon Island; and Paul Gamache of Carnation; sisters Connie Rheault and Annette Messier of Fort Pierce, Fla.; brothers Jules Gamache of San Jose, and Roger Gamache of Leominster, Mass.; and 12 grandchildren. His daughter Peggy Gamache died in 1977.
Remembrances can be made to St. Joseph Catholic Church, P.O. Box 200, Issaquah WA 98027.
An online tribute to Mr. Gamache can be found at www.greenlight.liquidweb.com/ johngamache
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1922 - 1999 (77 years)
