Obituary for Melvin Lee Hancock
On September 7th, 2022 Mr. Melvin Lee Hancock, age 76, waltzed right over to where the roses never fade. Melvin was a life- long resident, minus a few years, of Loughman and Davenport, Florida. Four and a half years ago adverse medical circumstances led both, Melvin, and his wife, Cathy Arnold Hancock, from their Central Florida way of life to Southwest Missouri. While Mel enjoyed his adventures in the Midwest, and he was grateful to experience the rugged beauty of the Ozarks, his heart and soul was forever steeped in Southern gospel traditions. He greatly missed his Floridian roots, and the ways and days of his youth.
Mel was born on July 31, 1946, when it was still cool to cuff his blue jeans, run barefoot down the old clay country roads, sport crew cuts, and hunt rabbits with his daddy’s old hunting rifle. “Those were the days,” he was fond of saying....when he could stop by Lake Hamilton to pick up a container of hot, boiled peanuts from the elderly gentleman with a stand set up on the side of the road. He reminisced often about swimming at the local water hole, or roller skating with his best bud, Eugene; or climbing Sand Mountain in Mulberry with Miss Cathy. “Sometimes”, he’d say, “we would stop into the A&W in Haines City for a root beer and a burger; or go by Alma’s in Davenport for penny candy, bbq peanuts and a 16 oz Top Cola.” It was the time of saddle oxfords, cool cars, lots of music, and holding hands with his sweetheart, Cathy, at church. These were the stories he told in his last years while living here in the Midwest.
Melvin grew up in a small Florida town where the local families relied, almost exclusively, on the orange groves for their livelihoods. In his day, the area was full of rolling hills of orange, tangerine, and grapefruit trees, and miles upon miles of that super fine sugar sand. His daddy, George Godfrey Hancock, and his mama, Ella Fare Stewart Hancock, as well as most of the working community, worked at the Holly Hill packing plant, or in the groves managed by the plant. George Hancock had a small orange grove on his property as well. Carrying five gallon buckets of water out to water the orange trees, was one of Mel’s dreaded chores.
Mel was born into a musical family. He was a multitalented musician. He cut his teeth on the old gospel favorites at church. Through the years his voice became very rich and powerful. He developed his own style to include bluegrass, gospel, country, and some of that ole time rock ‘n roll. He sang, he played the acoustic guitar, the bass guitar, the mandolin, and he played the piano by ear. His daddy led the church choir at the small country baptist church in Loughman. His grandmother Stewart, and his mother, Ella Fare, played the piano at the church as well.
He remembered being surrounded by extended family while growing up. He had two older sisters, Betty Patricia (Patsy) and Gloria Faye. He grew up where lots of cousins lived nearby. As he would say....”We would play together, fish together and get into trouble together”. Mel’s mama and daddy bought one of the first television sets in the neighborhood. It was not uncommon to have many of the neighborhood children at their house watching some of those early TV programs.
Melvin’s first car was a ‘49 Ford. His daddy got it for him so he could drive to the bus stop and catch the bus to school, then drive the old Ford back to the house after school. The header was missing. When you hit a bump....the rust would rain down on you. “If you took that left turn too fast, the passenger door would fly right open!” When his daddy and his mama were late working at the plant on a Wednesday night, he would drive that old car to church.
He had various jobs throughout his early working years, starting at Holly Hill unloading crates of fruit off the grove trucks called “goats.” For a span of time he worked as a groundskeeper at Tupperware Headquarters in Kissimmee, primarily in the rose garden. There was a swan that lived in one of the ponds there that would always follow him around on the grounds, as he worked. Circumstances split him from his childhood sweetheart, Cathy, in high school. They both went their separate ways. In the late eighties they came back together. Mel was working at Tupperware at that time. When Tupperware downsized, many employees lost their jobs. It was at that time, with encouragement from Cathy, that Melvin stepped fully into the musical world to test his musical chops.
Melvin has three boys via his first marriage to Elva Lee Munson Hancock Barkley ... Melvin (Keith) Hancock of Orlando, Florida, (Kevin) Lee Hancock of Gorham, Maine and Jeffrey Kyle Hancock of Orlando, Florida. Mel has three step-children via his marriage to Cathy Arnold Hancock....Daniel Hugh King of Williamsburg, Virginia, Victoria Charlene King Krysiak of Fordland, Missouri and Sherman Edward Bishop of Auburndale, Florida. Melvin leaves behind 14 grandchildren. He has been preceded in death by both of his sisters, his parents, and many of his musical friends.
These are some of the bluegrass and gospel groups Melvin was a part of and some of the folks he played with at Bluegrass Festivals, Carl Allen’s, and the Country music shows he and Cathy hosted. His extended musical “families”: He was a member of the Gilbert Hancock and Friends bluegrass band (Gilbert Hancock - banjo, Steve Durrwachter - fiddle, Carl Bailey - dobro, Mel Hancock - acoustic guitar), Bluegrass Heritage (Jim Dearing, Jason Barie, Frank Marcum, Shane Stewart, Mel Hancock), The Cypress Creek bluegrass/gospel group (Mel Hancock, Bob Denoncourt, Ted Locke, and Sam Tidwell), The Born Again gospel group (Hugh Pointer, Gayle Smith, Bobby Drawdy, Mel Hancock), The James Rogers Family (James Rogers, Jimmy Rogers, Victor Hall, Bubba, and Mel Hancock), The Believers/Evangelaires (Dick Johnson, Sharon, Bobby, Ginny, Gary and Mel).
He got to play with Chubby Wise (a world renowned fiddle player) and Mac Wiseman (the grandfather of bluegrass) at the YeeHaw Junction bluegrass festivals. He played with an amazing number of talented musicians within these groups (at bluegrass festivals and churches), as well as numerous jam sessions and on the stage at the notorious Carl Allen Cafe (a central hub in the bluegrass, gospel and country music world of Central Florida). He could have gone on to bigger times, because he had the musical talent, the technical skill, and the heart for it. What he chose to do, was to step into nursing homes to share his gift. That was his calling, and he did it with his entire soul. He played at hundreds of nursing homes, assisted living and Alzheimer’s lock down units; sometimes 3 a day in a hundred mile radius. He would still play for his supper at Granny’s Catfish Place near Loughman, Florida, and he would still pack the house at Pizza Hut in Haines City from time to time. He and Cathy hosted a monthly country music show there in Davenport, Florida and sometimes in Dundee, Florida. It was a place where his bluegrass festival fans had a place to come and share his music. It was called Mel and the Part-timers, because he opened up the stage for any of his musical friends to join him on stage in any particular month. In the end, after dementia took such a tenacious hold on him, we were always saying to him that he had to do his part to stay out in the world with us. Lord knows, he did well and beyond his part all through the years.
Through the years Pops played music and sang songs at so many funerals for family and loved ones, and friends of loved ones....hundreds of funerals. He sang ‘In the Garden’ and ‘The Lighthouse’ at Cathy’s mama’s funeral, and that was really tough on him. He was unable to sing at his own mama’s funeral. He and Cathy decided many years ago, after attending a number of heart breaking funerals in a row, and after the emotional toil it took, that neither of them wanted to have a funeral or graveside services. Most of his family is buried at Oak Hill Cemetery in Loughman, Florida. The land was donated by his grandfather Bosier Hancock to the community people as a place of rest. Melvin was cremated in Springfield, Missouri at the Herman Lohmeyer Funeral Home. He and Cathy both still have plots in the family plot at Oak Hill where we may in the future place a memorial stone for him.
He was a blessing in many ways, to many people through the years, through his music, and through his work with the church in his community. He touched many lives with his gift. We will take him home and honor him in the community he has known his entire life. That tribute will be announced at a later time, as we are gathering all the pieces of his legacy for that journey.
Mel was born on July 31, 1946, when it was still cool to cuff his blue jeans, run barefoot down the old clay country roads, sport crew cuts, and hunt rabbits with his daddy’s old hunting rifle. “Those were the days,” he was fond of saying....when he could stop by Lake Hamilton to pick up a container of hot, boiled peanuts from the elderly gentleman with a stand set up on the side of the road. He reminisced often about swimming at the local water hole, or roller skating with his best bud, Eugene; or climbing Sand Mountain in Mulberry with Miss Cathy. “Sometimes”, he’d say, “we would stop into the A&W in Haines City for a root beer and a burger; or go by Alma’s in Davenport for penny candy, bbq peanuts and a 16 oz Top Cola.” It was the time of saddle oxfords, cool cars, lots of music, and holding hands with his sweetheart, Cathy, at church. These were the stories he told in his last years while living here in the Midwest.
Melvin grew up in a small Florida town where the local families relied, almost exclusively, on the orange groves for their livelihoods. In his day, the area was full of rolling hills of orange, tangerine, and grapefruit trees, and miles upon miles of that super fine sugar sand. His daddy, George Godfrey Hancock, and his mama, Ella Fare Stewart Hancock, as well as most of the working community, worked at the Holly Hill packing plant, or in the groves managed by the plant. George Hancock had a small orange grove on his property as well. Carrying five gallon buckets of water out to water the orange trees, was one of Mel’s dreaded chores.
Mel was born into a musical family. He was a multitalented musician. He cut his teeth on the old gospel favorites at church. Through the years his voice became very rich and powerful. He developed his own style to include bluegrass, gospel, country, and some of that ole time rock ‘n roll. He sang, he played the acoustic guitar, the bass guitar, the mandolin, and he played the piano by ear. His daddy led the church choir at the small country baptist church in Loughman. His grandmother Stewart, and his mother, Ella Fare, played the piano at the church as well.
He remembered being surrounded by extended family while growing up. He had two older sisters, Betty Patricia (Patsy) and Gloria Faye. He grew up where lots of cousins lived nearby. As he would say....”We would play together, fish together and get into trouble together”. Mel’s mama and daddy bought one of the first television sets in the neighborhood. It was not uncommon to have many of the neighborhood children at their house watching some of those early TV programs.
Melvin’s first car was a ‘49 Ford. His daddy got it for him so he could drive to the bus stop and catch the bus to school, then drive the old Ford back to the house after school. The header was missing. When you hit a bump....the rust would rain down on you. “If you took that left turn too fast, the passenger door would fly right open!” When his daddy and his mama were late working at the plant on a Wednesday night, he would drive that old car to church.
He had various jobs throughout his early working years, starting at Holly Hill unloading crates of fruit off the grove trucks called “goats.” For a span of time he worked as a groundskeeper at Tupperware Headquarters in Kissimmee, primarily in the rose garden. There was a swan that lived in one of the ponds there that would always follow him around on the grounds, as he worked. Circumstances split him from his childhood sweetheart, Cathy, in high school. They both went their separate ways. In the late eighties they came back together. Mel was working at Tupperware at that time. When Tupperware downsized, many employees lost their jobs. It was at that time, with encouragement from Cathy, that Melvin stepped fully into the musical world to test his musical chops.
Melvin has three boys via his first marriage to Elva Lee Munson Hancock Barkley ... Melvin (Keith) Hancock of Orlando, Florida, (Kevin) Lee Hancock of Gorham, Maine and Jeffrey Kyle Hancock of Orlando, Florida. Mel has three step-children via his marriage to Cathy Arnold Hancock....Daniel Hugh King of Williamsburg, Virginia, Victoria Charlene King Krysiak of Fordland, Missouri and Sherman Edward Bishop of Auburndale, Florida. Melvin leaves behind 14 grandchildren. He has been preceded in death by both of his sisters, his parents, and many of his musical friends.
These are some of the bluegrass and gospel groups Melvin was a part of and some of the folks he played with at Bluegrass Festivals, Carl Allen’s, and the Country music shows he and Cathy hosted. His extended musical “families”: He was a member of the Gilbert Hancock and Friends bluegrass band (Gilbert Hancock - banjo, Steve Durrwachter - fiddle, Carl Bailey - dobro, Mel Hancock - acoustic guitar), Bluegrass Heritage (Jim Dearing, Jason Barie, Frank Marcum, Shane Stewart, Mel Hancock), The Cypress Creek bluegrass/gospel group (Mel Hancock, Bob Denoncourt, Ted Locke, and Sam Tidwell), The Born Again gospel group (Hugh Pointer, Gayle Smith, Bobby Drawdy, Mel Hancock), The James Rogers Family (James Rogers, Jimmy Rogers, Victor Hall, Bubba, and Mel Hancock), The Believers/Evangelaires (Dick Johnson, Sharon, Bobby, Ginny, Gary and Mel).
He got to play with Chubby Wise (a world renowned fiddle player) and Mac Wiseman (the grandfather of bluegrass) at the YeeHaw Junction bluegrass festivals. He played with an amazing number of talented musicians within these groups (at bluegrass festivals and churches), as well as numerous jam sessions and on the stage at the notorious Carl Allen Cafe (a central hub in the bluegrass, gospel and country music world of Central Florida). He could have gone on to bigger times, because he had the musical talent, the technical skill, and the heart for it. What he chose to do, was to step into nursing homes to share his gift. That was his calling, and he did it with his entire soul. He played at hundreds of nursing homes, assisted living and Alzheimer’s lock down units; sometimes 3 a day in a hundred mile radius. He would still play for his supper at Granny’s Catfish Place near Loughman, Florida, and he would still pack the house at Pizza Hut in Haines City from time to time. He and Cathy hosted a monthly country music show there in Davenport, Florida and sometimes in Dundee, Florida. It was a place where his bluegrass festival fans had a place to come and share his music. It was called Mel and the Part-timers, because he opened up the stage for any of his musical friends to join him on stage in any particular month. In the end, after dementia took such a tenacious hold on him, we were always saying to him that he had to do his part to stay out in the world with us. Lord knows, he did well and beyond his part all through the years.
Through the years Pops played music and sang songs at so many funerals for family and loved ones, and friends of loved ones....hundreds of funerals. He sang ‘In the Garden’ and ‘The Lighthouse’ at Cathy’s mama’s funeral, and that was really tough on him. He was unable to sing at his own mama’s funeral. He and Cathy decided many years ago, after attending a number of heart breaking funerals in a row, and after the emotional toil it took, that neither of them wanted to have a funeral or graveside services. Most of his family is buried at Oak Hill Cemetery in Loughman, Florida. The land was donated by his grandfather Bosier Hancock to the community people as a place of rest. Melvin was cremated in Springfield, Missouri at the Herman Lohmeyer Funeral Home. He and Cathy both still have plots in the family plot at Oak Hill where we may in the future place a memorial stone for him.
He was a blessing in many ways, to many people through the years, through his music, and through his work with the church in his community. He touched many lives with his gift. We will take him home and honor him in the community he has known his entire life. That tribute will be announced at a later time, as we are gathering all the pieces of his legacy for that journey.