Melvin "Mel" Allen Knowles

Mr. Melvin Knowles, age 98, of Alpharetta, Georgia and Aiken, South Carolina passed away Tuesday, October 25, 2022. Mel was born on February 12, 1924 in Syracuse, New York, son of the late Edward and Ethel Knowles. Mel and his beloved wife of 68 years, Marilou (Urbanek) moved to Aiken in 1952 as a newly-married couple, where they raised two daughters, Vickie and Sandra. Their life in Aiken was filled with golf at Highland Park Golf Course and Woodside Plantation, wonderful friends, volunteer work, gardening, visits with their daughters and grandchildren, and in Mel’s younger days, running 10K road races all over South Carolina. The couple were longtime, active members of Aiken First Presbyterian Church. An avid fisherman, Mel spent many summer visits with his extended family at Sandy Pond, New York. For a time in his 80s he was shooting his age in golf, but never got a hole in one like his wife. He and Marilou also loved to travel, especially taking cruises and golfing in Scotland and Hawaii. They were longtime patrons of the Masters golf tournament in Augusta, which Mel enthusiastically attended annually for more than 60 years. A proud U.S Navy veteran, Mel served as a medic in World War II on the USS Hendry in the Pacific theater. He was called up again during the Korean War and served at a military hospital on Long Island, New York. He was honored by the Daughters of the American Revolution and traveled to Washington, DC on an Honor Flight to help inaugurate the National World War II Memorial. Mel spent his entire career working at the Savannah River Plant in South Carolina. We always wanted to know what he did during those early years, but he could never tell us. As we grew older and the world changed we found out that he had worked at a site that enriched plutonium during the Cold War. In the latter portion of his career he worked in safety management, ensuring the safe storage of waste products produced by nuclear power plants. As a consummate host he was always ready to toast a good time and loved being the bartender. He was known for his recipe for the perfect Old Fashioned. He adored his grandchildren and was always bragging about them to anyone who would listen. Along with his parents, Mel is preceded in death by his wife, Marilou Knowles, and his three siblings. He is survived by his two loving daughters and their husbands: Sandra and Brian Nutt, Manassas, Virginia; Vickie and Evan McElroy, Roswell, Georgia; and four grandchildren: Brandon Nutt and Leah Bansleben (Kevin), Manassas, Virginia; Brian McElroy (Kerry Ko), Torrance, CA; and Casey McElroy, Copenhagen, Denmark. A memorial service will be held on Tuesday, December 20th, 2022 at 7:00 PM at Northside Chapel Funeral Directors located at 12050 Crabapple Road, Roswell, Georgia. In lieu of flowers a donation in his name can be made to the First Presbyterian Church in Aiken, SC. Please visit www.northsidechapel.com to share memories and leave condolences to the family.

Melvin "Mel" Allen Knowles

February 12, 1924 - October 25, 2022