Funeral Details

Mel was my best bicycle buddy and ham radio colleague and fellow Motorolan . A brilliant gentleman.

Jerry Meyerhoff

I don't believe I ever saw Mel express frustration. I would go to him for help, desperate from completely outrageous software/vendor/corporate/etc. issues knowing full well that he could easily add to my cursing. Instead, he would just patiently hear me out and go about solving/mitigating the problem step by step. And, magically, his calmness was contagious. He had a much broader perspective and understanding of what was really important. I never heard him say a bad thing about anyone. A true gentleman.

Nick Buris

My Reflections shared at Mel's service 12/3/2018
Hello, I'm Jerry Meyerhoff & I've known Mel Schechtman a very long time . I first met Mel through the Amateur radio club at Niles East in Skokie ~ 1963ish . We only lived 8 short-blocks apart , so it was easy to get together. My station was cobbled together war-surplus sprawled over a makeshift table. Mel's home station was very orderly . A proper Hammarlund HQ110 Receiver , Johhnson Ranger Transmitter and a 14AVQ vertical on the roof with the specified ground radials. Everything was just so. Mel was like that â?¦

We discovered a shared passion for bicycling. My JC Higgins 3 speed was a wobbler but got by. Mel's Royce was a very ordinary lightweight touring bike but his maintenance efforts kept it in perfectly tuned condition. We often biked 13 miles to Highland Park for lunch . I had a crescent wrench dangling from the seat while Mel often taped a banana snack to his frame. Mel found the best routes and it seemed that it was down hill in both directions. One day we just took off North to see how far we could get in a day. Mel planned our lunch stop at Mathons Fish restaurant in Waukegan. When we returned home just at dark , my Mom was pretty calm. I guess cause she trusted that Mel would keep us out of harm.

We both pursued Electrical Engineering , Mel at Northwestern me at UIC . One summer I found work at Panelite in the nearby Skokie industrial park, doing â??mechanical panel assemblyâ?. The next summer Mel also worked there and we both rode our bikes to work .

Mel got a summer internship at FORD and lived in Detroit . He returned with a few car radios and proceed to convert one to a HiFi adding a phono preamp , an AR turntable and pair of AR-4 bookshelf speakers. He invited me over to hear the first album by Santana , it sounded amazing !

After graduation Mel went to Palo Alto to work at Hewlett Packard , a dream job. When I married Joanne we honeymooned in California so Mel had to show us around his a

jerry Meyerhoff

continued .. Mel had to show us around his area. He invited me into HP ,, and it was well,,, just amazing. Mel drove us through San Francisco in his Fiat 124 masterfully manipulating the manual transmission on the steepest of ascents.
He introduced us to Dim Sum , yum ! Mel borrowed a bike for me and we rode the wonderful hills in the area.

Later Mel returned to Chicago, roomed with John Matz another Skokie ham radio buddy and went to work at Motorola in Research. As I was in Motorola Automotive , our paths did not cross at work . But we got together occasionally for bicycling , Crab Rangoon at the Blue Peacock on Devon and some special dinners at our homes .

Since retirement , we occasionally met up through the Motorola Friday Gang or a quick SubWay lunch near his dialysis office . Mel always wanted to first hear about my consulting adventures , bicycling and family activities , while downplaying his valiant health efforts .
That's the kind of person Mel was. Very , very smart, always interested in what others were doing , offering smart advice and help if asked.
I'm thankful to have had Mel in my life , his legacy is assured but he will be missed . Jerry Meyerhoff 12/3/2018

jerry meyerhoff