Barbara Melnik

Barbara Jean Woodell Melnik, 72, mother, grandmother, sister, aunt, and good friend, was born September 19, 1951 in Detroit, Michigan and passed away on November 19, 2023, in Houston, Texas, surrounded by her family and loved ones. Barbara was raised in Oak Park, Michigan and attended Oak Park High School. She received her B.A. degree in Russian Language from the prestigious University of Michigan in Ann Arbor and an M.B.A. from Wayne State University in Detroit, a rarity in its time for women. Barbara had a strong work ethic throughout her life devoting her time, energy, and passion to many varied careers. One of her more memorable jobs was driving a Good Humor ice cream truck during Summer break while in college. Early in her career, she aided Soviet immigrants and, later, Vietnamese refugees assimilate to everyday life in the United States. She used her business acumen in multiple enterprises, co-founding Hou-Tex Metals in 1979 and later creating and managing her own travel agency, Vision Travel, in the 1990s. In more recent years, Barbara had the opportunity to work in a field that she was most passionate about, volunteering and helping others as the Director of the non-profit organizations, R.S.V.P and Foster Grandparents Program that both provided seniors with opportunities to work within their local communities which benefited them just as much as those they worked with. Barbara always had a love of culture and world travel. One of her first exposures was a semester abroad in Leningrad, USSR and after college graduation spent a year in Israel after the Yom Kippur war working with immigrants in the absorption center in Arad. She traveled to many parts of the world such as France, Spain, Russia, Hungary, Czech Republic, England, Denmark, and Norway just to name a few. She loved her annual trips to Mexico having visited over 30 times over the years. She was also proficient in over five different languages. She enjoyed watching sports, being a lifelong devotee to University of Michigan football and a late-in-life fan of the Houston Astros. In more recent years she fell in love with genealogy and enjoyed tracing her family roots back to Bohemia, Poland, and other Eastern European countries. Her greatest joy and accomplishment was raising her three successful children and the beautiful families they created. Barbara will be remembered for her lifelong devotion to family and helping others. Barbara was preceded in death by her parents, Allan and Dorothy Woodell, and her brother, Mark Woodell. Barbara is survived by a devoted family including sister Leslie Woodell Kaner (Roy Kaner), children Ilan Melnik (Juliett Levy), Irit Busany (Jonathan Busany), and Ryan Melnik (Michelle Mizrahi); loving grandchildren Sivan, Shayna, Sender and Segev Melnik, Ariel and Daniella Busany, and Galit Melnik; and many nieces and nephews. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to Hadassah at www.hadassah.org/donate. A funeral service was held at 3:00 pm on Monday, November 20, 2023 at Beth Jacob Cemetery, 2300 Almeda Genoa Rd, Houston, TX, 77047

Barbara Melnik

September 19, 1951 - November 19, 2023