Marvin Melville bent down to pick up a few of his skiing medals that were scattered on the stairs in his home. "The grandkids were over yesterday," he said with a smile of explanation.
It's almost like you can see his life story, all in the act of picking up those medals. Once an Olympic skier, now comfortably transformed into a grandpa, Melville's life has more than a story or two to tell.
"Right after the war (in 1945) … I was 10 years old and my dad took me down to the old army and navy surplus store downtown and bought a pair of army skis, boots and poles and we headed for the mountain," Melville remembered. "It was nothing serious, but that's how I got started skiing."
Over time, skiing for fun evolved into competing in a few junior races, which Melville was successful in. "One thing kind of led to another and by the time I was in college, I had a goal or objective of trying to make an Olympic team," Melville said.
It wasn't until Melville won the Snow Cup in 1955, beating former Olympic racers, that he realized that he might have a more serious future in skiing and got involved with the University of Utah ski team.
Melville skied in races designated by the National Ski Association for a spot on the 1956 Olympic team, headed for Cortina, Italy. He was selected as one of four starters on the eight-man team.
And that was right around the time that Melville got drafted by the Army.
At that time, right out of high school, boys were required to join the National Guard, the reserves or get drafted. Melville joined the reserves but missed too many of the required meetings because he was skiing with the Olympic team every weekend. So he was sent to basic training.
However, because of his unique situation, Melville was able to push back basic training so he could go to Portillo, Chile, for a couple months of ski training. From there it was straight to basic training and then straight to Europe for skiing.
Between the Army and the Olympics, Melville was consistently out of the country and on the move — until he broke his leg skiing. It was a break that would bring him to his future wife. Melville was
flown from Germany back to Denver, where the doctor pronounced that there was nothing to be done for him — and sent him home to Utah for 60 days.
Enter Renee, a girl Melville had known since high school. "How many dates can you have in 60 days? 60. It was a pretty intense dating situation," Melville said, laughing.
With their wedding scheduled for his final week in the military, Melville headed back to the base in Denver.
Just days before the wedding, Marvin Melville was in suspension while his release paperwork was being done. "I told the guy, 'I've got to go home for a couple of days,' and all he said was, 'Don't you leave.'… So I just took off," Melville said.
"I was what you call AWOL. I came back to Utah, got married, both of us got on a plane back to Denver after the reception and I was standing tall the next morning in formation like I'd never been gone."
From there, Melville continued to ski for the University of Utah, skied in the World Championships in Austria and went to the 1960 Olympic Games in Squaw Valley, Calif.
That year, Bud Werner, who was said to be the number one hope for the U.S ski team, broke his leg. Local newspapers began reporting that Melville was now the number one downhill skier for the U.S and the hopes of America were on him.
"I couldn't handle the pressure. I just choked," Melville said.
When he didn't do very well in the downhill, the coaches asked other people to run the other events, even though Melville had never been beaten in them. Because Melville had intended this to be his last Olympics, he was disappointed with the outcome and the way things were handled. He finished his career at 23, the age that most Olympic skiers begin their career now, and returned to the University of Utah to finish his business degree and coach the U.'s ski team.
After that, Melville organized The Alpine Training School and coached kids from Utah high schools. He was also asked to be the assistant coach for the U.S. Woman's ski team for the 1964 Olympics. On the team was Jean Salbert, an Olympic medalist whom Melville introduced the gospel to and baptized.
"After that my dad died the next year and I just said, 'I've got to get on with life and raise a family,'" Melville said.
Melville quit coaching, and he and his wife set out to raise their five daughters in the gospel. They now have 29 grandchildren, nine of whom have served missions with one still in the field, and five great-grandchildren.
Melville went on to be a bishop of a married student ward at the U. and a member of the high council. He also served in many callings, such as Scouts, involved with youths.
When asked what he plans on doing now, Melville smiled and said, "Right now I'm just trying to be retired and spend time with the kids."
e-mail: hloftus@desnews.com