West Shore Vice Principal Jim Melia Passes Away
By Space Coast Daily // August 5, 2013
apparent heart attack
BREVARD COUNTY, MELBOURNE, FLORIDA – West Shore Vice Principal Jim Melia passed away last Friday at age 47 due to an apparent heart attack.
Melia served as Assistant Principal of Facilities at West Shore Jr./Sr. High School and was a graduate of Vero Beach High School, Florida State University and Nova Southeastern University.
Below is a statement from West Shore Principal Rick Fleming:
“It is with a heavy heart and soul that I report to you that our beloved Mr. Jim Melia passed away on Friday night due to an apparent heart attack. Naturally, the Nation is grieving as a result of this tremendous and sudden loss to our school as Mr. Melia was somewhat of an icon to our entire school community. He was feared by most but loved by all and his jovial spirit and personality will be sincerely missed. At the moment we are still quite numb over this loss as is his immediate family therefore no arrangements have been announced as of yet. Please stay tuned to our PTA Listserve, Edline, and our Roar website for more information in the near future. In the meantime, please keep Mr. Melia’s family in your thoughts and prayers.
As we all grapple and grieve through this in our own way I wanted to let everyone know that we will have grief counselors on hand during registration and for the start of the school year to assist any in our school community who may need it. Mr. Melia embodied everything West Shore is….hard work, family, fellowship, and commitment and this loss is obviously hard to take for all of us. In spite of the loss however I know that he would want us to carry on in true Wildcat fashion by preparing for yet another positive and productive school year.
Amid this tremendous loss we look forward to reconnecting with our students and parents at registration and as always, if you have an questions, comments, or concerns please contact our front office. As soon as I have information on the services for Mr. Melia I will post them to all of our communication resources. Thank you in advance for your compassion, your patience, and your collective understanding during this difficult time.”
Sincerely,
Rick Fleming, Principal
