Larry John Melau, age 77, of Rhinelander, died June 4, 2017, at St. Mary’s Hospital in Rhinelander. He was born Dec. 6, 1939 in Rhinelander to George and Alma (Pugh) Melau.

Larry graduated from Rhinelander High School in 1959, after which he married his wife of 55 ½ years, Nancy Sparks, on Sept. 23, 1961, and they moved into their current home. Above all else Larry loved God and his family and was an active member of Grace Foursquare Church since 1977. He was a very kind-hearted man and was a great husband, father and friend, who would do anything for you. He enjoyed spending time with his family, fishing, camping, and his HAM radio which he had been operating since 1954 (Call Sign – W9ZZZ).

Larry was also a private pilot among the many other job titles that he held. He had built his own airplane and also rebuilt another. Larry was always tinkering with something and always had more than one project going at the same time.

Larry is survived by his wife, Nancy (Sparks) Melau of Rhinelander; daughters, Kimberlee (Lloyd) Gauthier and Laura (Jonathan) Wilcox, both of Rhinelander; sons Jeff (Chrystina) Melau of Rhinelander, and Michael (Cindy) Melau of Arbor Vitae; grandchildren Ashley (Don) Hudy, Amanda Buss, Katelyn Buss, Hannah Gauthier, Seth Wilcox, and Patrick Wilcox; great-grandchild, Brayden, and sister Freda (Jim) Waalkens. He was preceded in death by his parents and brother, Vernon Melau.

A memorial visitation will be held on Thursday, June 8, from 9:30 until the 11 a.m. memorial service, all at Grace Foursquare Church in Rhinelander. Pastor Julie Wilcox will be officiating. (Carlson Funeral Home)