William Harvey Mellor's Obituary
William Harvey “Bill” Mellor, 101, died on the evening of April 30, 2026, in Ft. Myers, Florida.
He was born on December 22, 1924, in Ft. Myers, a son of attorney Fred H. Mellor of Pensacola, who came to Ft. Myers to practice law in 1921, and the former Fannie Anderson of Tampa. Bill was educated in Lee County schools, the University of Florida and Georgia Tech. He served three years in the U. S. Navy during World War II, in the Pacific theater, as a flight engineer with Photo Reconnaissance Group 2. Bill’s only brother, John Frederick Mellor I, lost his life in the Philippines in that same war.
After WWII, Bill married Patricia Humfleet of Ft. Myers, who passed away on December 14, 2024, at age 98, after 77 years of marriage. He was also predeceased by his son John Frederick Mellor of Ft. Myers, and his only sister Noralee Stephenson of Richmond, previously of Falls Church, VA. Survivors include daughters Catherine Mellor Carter (Billy) of Jacksonville, FL, and Barbara Mellor of Highlands, NC, three grandsons: Frederick Carter (Rachel), Michael Carter (Georgia), and Daniel Bowles, six great-grandchildren: Nathan, Eden, and Madison Carter, Kaitlyn Davies, Sophie and Sadie Bowles, and two great-great-grandchildren: Carter and Emory Davies, and nieces and nephews.
Bill was a general building contractor for many years. He developed Sabal Shores Subdivision at Ft. Myers Beach, built residential and commercial buildings, including one of the first strip shopping centers in Ft. Myers, which was built to his own original design.
Bill was a lifelong member of the First Presbyterian Church of Ft. Myers. In his earlier years, he was active in civic and patriotic organizations at Ft. Myers Beach, such as Lions Club and American Legion. He was a state director of the Isaac Walton League. In the 1960’s he was a member of the Committee of One Hundred, a group dedicated to improving downtown Ft. Myers. He has conducted gun safety classes for boys and girls as a certified rifle instructor under the NRA, of which he was a life member. He was, until recently, an active member of Sons of the American Revolution and the SW Florida Historical Society.
However, he is best known as the founder of the Lee County Conservation Association, Inc., of which he was president and spokesman for many years. This organization is credited with stopping the once flagrant practice of destroying Florida’s estuaries to create land for development. On September 11, 2012, the Board of County Commissioners of Lee County passed a Resolution thanking Bill for his leadership in saving Estero Bay from dredge-fill development and for his many years of dedicated effort leading to the establishment of the forty-one Aquatic Preserves now in the state of Florida. He has also
been honored several times on anniversaries of the 1966 establishment in Lee County of the first Aquatic Preserve.
Bill was an avid fisherman all his life, and for many years, he enjoyed hunting, building swamp buggies, and building a camp in the Everglades.
As a young man, Bill served as a volunteer fireman at Ft. Myers Beach. He was responsible for setting up the first Fire district in Lee County, appointed Commissioner by the Governor. He subsequently took the lead in creating the tax district for Iona-McGregor and others in the county.
A memorial service will be held at a later date
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