Robert Wayne Meline

Rob, “The Right Stuff,” Meline was born to Maurice and Joyce Meline on Oct. 12, 1956, in Ritzville.

He was an avid sports fan and athlete, lettering in football, basketball, baseball and track every year in high school. He won numerous awards in athletics, including being named Inland Empire Player of the Week multiple times. He still holds state records for B8 football from the state championship game in 1974.

He attended Washington Sate University from 1975-1980, where he earned his Bachelor of Science degree in Physical Education, with a minor in Biology, and an option to teach K-12 students. He was a walk-on to the Cou-babes JV Basketball Team as a freshman.

He also met his wife, Kim, there – through a prank phone call. Once out of college, Wilbur Public Schools first hired him. He taught fourth grade there for seven years, along with coaching the boys varsity football team and the girls varsity basketball team. He was hired by the Bethel School District during the summer of 1988. He helped open Camas Prairie Elementary that fall, and remained at the school ever since. While there, he was entered into Who’s Who in America’s Teachers, five separate times. He also received a Teacher of the Year award from Wal-Mart.

One of the last trips he took was to Space Camp in Huntsville, Ala., the summer of 2012. Quite appropriately, he was selected as the most enthusiastic educator in the group, earning a medal that declared that he, indeed, has the “Right Stuff.”

It is said by friends and family that he was an absolutely delightful person to be around, warm, funny, and passionate, especially about his loves – God and family, his students and friends, space, and his WSU Cougars.

He is survived by his wife, Kim; daughters, Kristina, Shannon, Sara, and Katiehis; parents, Maurice and Joyce; siblings, Steve, Debi, Mark, and Mike and their families; and mother-in-law, Evy McNeal.

The memorial service will be at 1 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 10, at Immanuel Presbyterian Church in Tacoma, followed by a reception.

Please consider donating to the BEST Scholarship Fund, c/o “The Right Stuff.” It will be awarded yearly to a student in the Bethel School District that plans to major in the sciences. Contact Harriet Balmer at 253-535-2437, PO Box 742, Graham, WA 98338.