Bruce Melchor, a founding director of TCC Educational Foundation, dies at 64

Bruce E. Melchor III, who served Tidewater Community College for many years as a member and chair of the College Board and the first chair of the Educational Foundation, died Oct. 6. He was 64.

A memorial service will be held Saturday at 2 p.m. at First Lutheran Church in Norfolk, followed by a reception.

Melchor was appointed to the College Board in 1976 by Norfolk City Council and was its chair from 1982 to 1983. He stepped down at the conclusion of his second full term in 1987.

In May 1986, he was among the founding directors of the TCC Educational Foundation, the fundraising arm of the college, and for 10 years served as its first chair. He served on the foundation board until 2005, capping 30 years of support of and service to the college.

A resolution presented to him in 2005 recognizes his pivotal role in the college’s efforts “to diversify the college’s funding base and, in so doing, advance the vision of TCC as a national exemplar of a comprehensive community college in the 21st century.”

Dr. Terry L. Jones, former Portsmouth provost and now special assistant in the Office of Student Learning and Academic Services, remembered Melchor’s contributions. “He was always a booster for the college on both boards,” he said. “I had more contact with him when he was on the Foundation Board where he opened many doors to potential donors and was a constant promoter of TCC.

“He was a very kind man who had a wonderful spirit about him and always had a smile.”

A Norfolk native, Melchor graduated from Norfolk Academy and Roanoke College and earned his MBA from the College of William & Mary. He was the president of Boyd-Bluford, a wholesale distributorship, for over 30 years. Among his many civic endeavors, he was the longest-serving Board of Trustees member at Roanoke College, was president of the Lochhaven Civic League and sat on the board of the Virginia Zoo.