Kou Melvin Obituary (1936 - 2024)

Kou was born January 5, 1936 in Tokyo, Japan. Her maiden name was Tanigami. There were eight children in her family. All attended grade and high school in Tokyo. She earned her law degree from Meiji University in Tokyo. She worked for an American shipping company, Everett Steamship Corporation, with its head office in San Mateo, California. She worked in the company's Far East headquarters in Yokohama, Japan. That is where she met her husband, Al Melvin, who recently transferred from one of the company's offices in Seoul, Korea. Later, Al joined Mitsui O.S.K. Lines (America) and they moved to Huntington Beach, CA. The next move for Kou and Al was to San Mateo, CA, when Al became the company's Northern California District Manager. In 2002, they moved to their new home in SaddleBrooke. She became an American citizen on September 17, 2004 . During their marriage, Al was recalled to active duty in the US Navy, twice, each an unaccompanied tour for one year. The first recall was for the First Gulf War. The second was when Al became Commander, Maritime Prepositioning Squadron Two based at Diego Garcia, in the Indian Ocean. Al retired from the US Navy in 1999, as a Captain, after 30 years' service. Al served in the Arizona State Senate for six years from 2009-2015. Kou was the key person in all of Al's political campaigns. Al represented northern Pima and southern Pinal County in the Arizona Senate. This equated to roughly 200,000 citizens. In early 2014, Al concluded an unsuccessful one year bid for Governor. Kou was an avid golfer, playing three rounds of 18 hole golf per week with the ladies most of her 20+ years in SaddleBrooke. She was a student of the Spanish language most of her time in SaddleBrooke. She really enjoyed her Koi pond and waterfall with her 15 pet Koi. She and her husband were long time members of the Elks club in Catalina. She and her husband were members of the St. Melany Byzantine Catholic Church. She is survived by her brother-in-law John Michael Melvin, sister-in law Florence Ann Johannes, and numerous nieces and nephews. In lieu of flowers, please donate to the Marana Veterans Cemetery, where Kou and her husband are interred.