Melvin E. Thake, 60, Bloomington, IL; died peacefully of a brain tumor at home on March 18, 2006 at 9:40 a.m.
A Celebration of Life Service will be held at 2 p.m. Sunday, March 26 at Hayden Auditorium and a reception will follow at Metcalf School Gymnasium in Normal, with Rev. David A. Robins officiating. He will be cremated. Carmody-Flynn Williamsburg Funeral Home, Bloomington, is in charge of arrangements. In lieu of flowers memorials may be made to Metcalf Lab School, 7000 Illinois State University, Normal, IL, 61790-7000.
He was born Oct. 3, 1945, to Clifford and Grace Duffy Thake in Minneapolis, MN. He grew up in Hayward, WI. He married Barbara Stahlhut on Aug. 16, 1969, in Lincoln, IL. He is survived by his wife of 36 years; daughter, Mary Beth Thake of Springfield; son, William Thake (Marianna Crippa), of Cornate d’Adda, Italy; his mother, Grace Thake of Hayward, WI.; and his brothers, Jerry (Betty) Thake, Bill (Robyn) Thake and Douglas Thake, all of Hayward, WI, and Bob Thake of Glenview, IL. He was preceded in death by his infant daughter, Marjorie; his sister Sandra Danielson; his niece Alanna Thake; and his father Clifford, who died in 1955. He was a member of the Unitarian Universalist Church of Bloomington-Normal.
Mel graduated from the University of Wisconsin at Superior with a B.S. in physical education and English and earned his M.S. in Physical Education at Illinois State University. For 29 years he was a Faculty Associate teaching physical education at Metcalf Lab School in Normal. Prior to teaching at Metcalf he taught in the Department of Defense Schools in Okinawa, Japan and Bonn, Germany.
Mel was an avid sportsman and enjoyed both bow and gun hunting. He also hunted pheasant, doves, quail and turkey. He enjoyed fishing in the summer. He was a member and past president of Pheasants Forever and was a board member of the McLean County Sportsmen. He was the1993 and 2006 Sportsman of the Year for the McLean County Sportsmen. He was concerned about hunter safety and became a volunteer instructor with the IL Dept of Natural Resources.
Mel participated in many sports through high school and college and was named to the N.A.I.A. 1st Team All American football team in 1966-1967, and later tried out for the Minnesota Vikings. He still holds the WIAC record for the longest punt: 83 yards against Whitewater in 1966. In 1988, he was named to the University of Wisconsin – Superior Hall of Fame. He also was skilled in log rolling and won the Consolation Championship in log rolling in 1974.
Mel was the athletic director at Metcalf School for many years. He coached the Metcalf 8th grade basketball team for 26 years. In 2001 his team won the State Championship. He earned the Coach of the Year award twice in boy’s eighth grade basketball.
Writing poetry about nature, family and current events was one of Mel’s great interests. His poetry was published in Deer and Deer Hunting magazine and the Boundary Water Journal. He was an excellent photographer.
He and his wife hosted international students from many countries and annually welcomed ISU American Studies students from Japan and Germany. He also served as a chaperone on student trips to both countries.
Mel loved children, friends, hunting, fishing, and many other sports. He enjoyed following former students throughout their lives. Mel’s greatest joy was his own children, and his saddest time was when his daughter died of SIDS. He made a lasting impression on many of his students with his gentle ways and his love of poetry, photography and sports. He will live on in many memories.

Mel was born in Minneapolis, MN October 3, 1945 to  Grace Duffy Thake and Clifford Thake.  He was the youngest of 6 children--5 boys and a girl. His brothers names are Gerald (Jerry), Robert (Bob), Douglas (Butch), and William (Bill) and sister Sandra. 

He grew up in Hayward Wisconsin in the north woods about an hour south of Lake Superior. His father was a truck driver for Munsingwear underwear and he died in a trucking accident when Mel was nine. The brothers who were a major influence in his early years. In high school he was good friends with several guys whose fathers were a big influence on him. The most consistent father figure was his high school coach, Rod Lundberg,. He was the one who told Mel to go to college, got him the scholarship, and supported him through the years.  They continued to be close friends until their death.

Mel played and coached many sports. Football was his best sport and first love, but he also was pretty good at basketball, track, and once coached wrestling. The most interesting sport for him was logrolling. Some of you have not heard of this, but there is actually a World Lumberjack Championship held annually in his hometown. He worked at the local tourist history camp and learned to logroll quite well. He even won first place consolation (about 4th in the world) in this championship and had a large trophy to show for it.

He made a name for himself at Wisconsin State U. at Superior. He has several records that continue to stand in the state of Wisconsin. In 1968, Mel was chosen for the “Little All American” football team and after graduation was a “walk-on” for the Minnesota Vikings. Needless to say, it was a short tryout—he was too short and not heavy enough. (He then changed his allegiance back to Green Bay!) He was inducted into the Wisconsin State U. Hall of Fame in 1988.

Mel majored in physical education (no surprise) and minored in English. Some of you may know of his love of reading (“Readers are leaders” is the quote he would tell his p.e. students) and his poetry ability. He has a book of poems that he enjoys showing to others that is touching in many ways. This strange combo of majors ended up serving him well.

In the summers of his college years, he was a counselor at the Kroehler YMCA camp in Hayward, WE.  He met his future wife at the camp.  He married Barbara Stahlhut August 16, 1969 before his last year of teaching. His first teaching job was to teach English and coach football in Harper Creek Schools in Battle Creek, Michigan for 3 years. He then went to graduate school at Illinois State U for his masters’ degree in physical education. He did a graduate assistantship at University High School as a coach in football and basketball. When he finished his masters degree, he got chosen to teach in the DODOS (Dept. of Defense Overseas Schools) in Okinawa, Japan. It is not a well known fact that there are schools for the children of military personnel on military bases. Teachers are civilian employees. Mel taught one year in Okinawa and 4 years (English and coaching) in Bonn, Germany from 1972-1977. These were wonderful years of  “before-children” marriage, with travel, and gaining some of the best friends he ever had.  His daughter, Mary Beth, was born in September 1975 in Weisbaden, Germany.

The overseas teaching experience was the beginning of his  interest in the global community .  He and his wife sponsored many international people from Italy, Germany, Japan, Romania, Nigeria, Russia, Thailand, and other countries. He always  enjoyed learning about different cultures. The people he met continued to influence his live in many ways.

In 1977, he quit teaching in the overseas program in order to have a real hometown in which to raise a family. He taught and coached at Metcalf Lab School since that time. He loved kids of any size and ability.

He was noted for his interest in hunting and other outdoor sports He could tell you stories for a year about hunting, fishing, and outdoor sports.  You would just have to have gotten it from him.!!

He had also made friends with an interesting and diverse group who had coffee together. He also would go to “the store”—Guns and Game” almost daily to do man talk!! He was very active in Pheasants Forever—a group who promote pheasant habitat –and in the McLean County Sportsmen—a local group who donates to outdoor and children’s causes to enhance the image of sportsmen.  He was served as president of each of these groups at some time.  He was a gifted photographer, but with film only!