Obituary

Melvin Reznicek

Our beloved father, Melvin Reznicek, passed away peacefully into the hands of God on April 23 rd at the age of 95 in Orange County, CA. A man of deep, unwavering faith in God, he joins his wife of 64 years Rita, his daughter Kathy, and a score of brothers and sisters who are rejoicing in his ascension to heaven. He is survived by his brother Ed, sons Daniel, David (Heather), Douglas (Paula) and Donald, son-in-law David, 11 grandchildren and 4 great grandchildren.

Mel was born in Snyder, Nebraska on July 28, 1929, the 4th child in a brood that grew to 7 for Joseph and Julia Reznicek (Mlnarik). His great grandparents emigrated from Bohemia, Czechoslovakia and dad always took pride in referring to himself as a “Bo-hunk”. As the Great Depression raged during his early years, the hard lessons learned formed the disciplined, grateful and resilient man he became in adulthood. He discarded a promising basketball career in high school to work and help support his family, and never backed down from sacrificing himself for the good of others throughout his entire life! His family was respected in Nebraska for operating small general stores, fueling the growth of farming communities in the early 1900’s. He was raised to worship Christ, work hard and treat others with respect and kindness.

He met and fell fast for the love of his life, Rita Turpin, in the Omaha Brandeis department store where they worked on a December afternoon in 1948. Rita had a strong resemblance to the actual Rita Hayworth, and Mel was forever head over heels. They married in 1949 and remained best friends and deeply devoted to one another until her passing in 2014. Perhaps his most respected trait was a fearless capacity to face risks head on, and he was also well known for his profound lifelong desire to stay warm, which led to his escape from the bitter cold of Nebraska. Mel was brilliant with numbers and thrived as a bookkeeper for Standard Oil in NE, but gave all that up to make the move West.

In 1959, in the face of much pleading from his mother to stay put in NE, he bravely moved Rita, Dan & Kathy to California without a job awaiting to stake his claim, landing first at his war hero brother Rich’s house. As the 1960’s arrived, the family moved around the LA area from Long Beach to Lynwood, eventually settling in Orange County and purchasing their first home in Garden Grove. There, a second wave of children were born, Dave then Doug, with Rita delivering a final surprise as Mel turned 40 – Don arrived! The boys proceeded to keep Mel busy for years to come with baseball, soccer, basketball and football games galore.

Mel was a genuine American success story and it stems from his ability to attract partners who shared his core values and drive for a better life. His competitive nature and love of sports led to the founding of the West Garden Grove Little League in 1960 with friend and business partner John Steeber; together, they opened S&R Concrete Construction company during those formative years. But in 1970 an exciting era began, as he partnered with Bob Matranga to launch Bomel Construction Company ! Today, one of the leading concrete construction contractors in the U.S., they began primarily with framing and concrete for K-Marts , and progressed to specializing in the building of parking structures. Mel managed the office while Bob led the estimating and production, as they established a unique business model and culture that still thrives today.

At the age of 59, while still in great health and with a burning desire to explore the world, Mel sold his stake of Bomel to Bob and began taking cruises with his beloved Rita across the globe. Always an excellent athlete who enjoyed golf, skiing and tennis, he also loved horse races, playing blackjack in Vegas and attending the summer Olympics. In time, Mel and Rita became pseudo-snowbirds maintaining houses in Sun City West, AZ and Laguna Niguel, CA. Dad’s idea of cold was a brisk 69 degree February morning! Being comfortable was one of life’s greatest pleasures.

Finally, Mel’s faith in God and clear belief in a life of everlasting joy promised by Jesus Christ, was the foundation of his existence and powered him through his most challenging moments, especially during his last 15 months of life. After living a life devoid of chronic diseases, Mel bravely fought off a harrowing cancer diagnosis in January of 2024 – metastatic melanoma had spread throughout his body. Immunotherapy treatments for 5 months made the cancer all but disappear, but his kidneys took the toll and dementia began to slow him down. Until the last week of his life, literally, he had no physical pain. He laughed with us, ate pasta, watched Laker games, drank J. Lohr chardonnay and smiled until his final day. He now rests in Heaven with his wife, daughter and so many family members. He touched the lives of countless people and will never be replaced.

Dad made sure that his favorite saying be engraved on his headstone:

“You can, if you think you can”

He DID…and he will forever be an inspiration to everyone he touched throughout a brilliant and beautiful life!