Teresa Gagnon Mellone ’39, ’62 AM, of Barrington, R.I.; Sept. 21, three weeks shy of her 101st birthday. She graduated with a degree in French and Italian, having entered as a freshman at the age of 15. As an undergraduate, she also had the opportunity to hone her art skills with courses at RISD and later received a master’s in linguistics. Education was extremely important to her and her teaching career spanned all grade levels. After college, she taught medieval and European history and Italian at Woonsocket (R.I.) High School. After she was married, she taught all grades at the U.S. Dependents Elementary School in Ansbach, Germany, where her husband was stationed. Already fluent in French and Italian, she learned to speak fluent German while there. After returning to the United States, she resumed her teaching career in Barrington and taught second grade for 24 years at Primrose Hill School. She was an active alumna, having served as class president and as a member/officer of the Pembroke Club, a member of the Commencement Pops Committee, Brown Street Series, Brown Community of Learning in Retirement, Pembroke Center Council, Faculty Club Board of Managers, and a longtime Brown Annual Fund fundraiser. She enjoyed music and playing the piano and was on the board of directors of the Rhode Island Philharmonic and a member of the Friends of the Philharmonic. She was also part of the original fundraising for the restoration of the Crescent Park Looff Carousel. She was a member of the Barrington Garden Club for many years and a devoted fan of the New England Patriots, calling herself their head cheerleader. She was proud to be a recipient of the Brown Bear Award and featured in the July/August 2019 BAM story “100 Years of Gratitude.” She is survived by three daughters; a son-in-law; three grandchildren, including Justin Monti ’99; and five great-grandchildren.
