Melvin Deloy Pack (“Deloy”) was born on May 23rd, 1936, in Los Angeles, California, the third child of Wesley Malin and Helen Heppler Pack. His parents were both Utah-born members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints with a farming background. Wes’s family had moved from Kamas to California for health reasons, and Helen, raised near Richfield, had traveled out to Hollywood with a dream of using her talents in music theater. During Deloy’s childhood, the family lived in a home in Sherman Oaks designed by Helen that was around the corner from Hollywood.. After graduating valedictorian from Van Nuys High School, he chose to serve a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and was called to Northern Mexico. He was a conscientious missionary and put in a vast amount of good service, keeping precise records. He learned to love Mexican music and the guitar, and came home with a clipped mustache and a healthy tan.
Upon his return, Deloy finished his B.S. degree at U.C.L.A., but he wasn’t satisfied with Chemistry as a career and veered instead towards Biblical studies at B.Y.U. His parents helped him spend two years at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem, where his Hebrew blossomed. A desire to trace familiar Old Testament stories, such as Noah’s Ark, in other ancient Middle-Eastern languages broadened his field of study towards all of Mesopotamia. He decided to pursue a doctorate in Assyriology, adding more to the long list of languages he was able to work in over his lifetime. After Jerusalem, he followed the journeyings of Paul, traveling west on his big motor scooter, then motored north up Italy to the University of Vienna, Austria, where an in-depth study of German would contribute to his doctorate.
It was during his year at Vienna that Deloy met and became engaged to Alison Turner, a new convert from Scotland working at the British Embassy. They crossed the Alps together on the motor scooter and from England, took off for Provo, Utah, where Deloy was to complete his M.A. in Old Testament Studies at B.Y.U. His thesis, Hebraisms in the Book of Mormon, became a popular study. Deloy and Alison married in the Salt Lake Temple on June 1st, 1971 and had five children.
When appointed to teach Hebrew at BYU, Deloy’s teaching was thorough and effective. Students were grateful for his painstaking assistance, and, out of the depth of his knowledge in the Old Testament, he made sure throughout his life to always provide a thoughtful and accurate answer to any related question. Deloy’s testimony, with full faith in Jesus Christ and His Restored Church, never wavered.
Deloy passed away peacefully in his home in Provo, Utah surrounded by family on December 20, 2024 at the age of 88.
Source: Obituary https://www.premierfuneral.com/obituaries/Melvin-Pack