Henry Joseph Melody

Henry Melody was born in Escanaba, Michigan and grew up in the Back of the Yards neighborhood of Chicago. Henry passed away peacefully at home in the presence of his wife Sybil Malinowski Melody. His parents were Helen (Bartus) Melody and Henry Melody (changed from Wieczorek). In addition to his wife, Henry is survived by his sisters-in-law Toni Thompson and Constance Malinowski and brothers-in-law Warren Bliss, Walter (Gail) Malinowski, Frank (Susan) Malinowski and Ed (Sharon) Malinowski and by many nieces and nephews, great nieces and great nephews and two great-great nieces. Henry was preceded in death by his parents, his brother Donald Melody and sister Lynn (Melody) Bliss.

Henry overcame a difficult childhood, served briefly in the United States Air Force, followed by earning a bachelor’s degree and a master’s degree in Family Counseling from Northeastern Illinois University. He spent most of his career as a substance abuse counselor working in various detox and social service settings. However, Henry’s lifelong passion was as a spiritual seeker. He attended a seminary for one year and tried a Bible college for a year as well and then studied Theosophy, Buddhism and the Advata Vedanta teachings of many masters for the rest of his life.

Dr. David Hawkins was one of the American teachers whose works Henry studied, which led him and Sybil to choose to move to the Sedona area in 2002, when Sybil decided she had had enough of Chicago winters and wanted to move to a warmer climate.

Sybil grew up in Chicago but was living in the San Francisco Bay area when Henry moved there to be with her at the end of 1997. In the Spring of 1998, they moved back to Chicago and got married on May 30, 1999. They moved to Cottonwood in the Fall of 2002, then to Jerome in the Fall of 2005. Henry joined the Jerome Fire Department Auxiliary, which included helping run the annual Halloween Dance for one year. He volunteered for many years at the Jerome Public Library until it closed due to COVID in 2020. Henry and Sybil moved “down the hill” to Clarkdale in 2014.

Among their travels, Henry and Sybil visited spiritual sites such as Jerusalem while touring Israel, Machu Pichu, and several temples in Delhi, India. Henry enjoyed trips to Hawaii, Bali, Rarotonga (Cook Islands), Belize, Mexico and Caribbean islands.

He will be missed by family and friends, including the members of the Jewish Community of Sedona and the Verde Valley who knew Henry as the supporter of Sybil’s involvement with the congregation for more than twenty years.

Westcott Funeral Home will arrange for cremation; a Chicago area celebration of life will be held at Andrew J. McGann and Son Funeral Home, 10727 S Pulaski Rd, Chicago, IL on Saturday morning, April 11th, followed by a brief burial service at Mt. Hope Cemetery, 115th & Fairfield, Chicago, IL, with a luncheon in the area afterward. Two local celebrations of life will be held in Arizona: the first on Sunday, May 10, 2 to 6 pm at Spook Hall, 250 Hull Ave, Jerome; and the second at the Jewish Community of Sedona and the Verde Valley, 100 Meadowlark Dr, Sedona, on Sunday, May 31st, at 11 am, followed by a luncheon in the Social Hall. Donations may be made in Henry’s memory to the Jerome Humane Society or the Jewish Community of Sedona and the Verde Valley.