Monday, April 27, 2015
By Sean Barron
BOARDMAN
Roslyn Schmidt laughed when she brought up having tried to cut Robert J. Melone’s hair — and how both got more than they bargained for.
“It was a Friday. I was 18 and Robert wanted a haircut, but I was in a hurry to go out dancing,” the Boardman woman recalled. “The blade [guard] fell off the clippers, and it accidentally created a bald patch. I told him to fill it in with eyeliner and no one would ever know.”
Schmidt, a licensed hairstylist who is one of Melone’s cousins, also remembered that when they were children, he built an obstacle course for her brother’s dog. Family members enjoyed watching and cheering on the animal as it maneuvered through the course, she said.
Her demeanor changed drastically, though, when she mentioned Melone’s motorcycle accident, which occurred a few years ago as he was on his way to work near McLean, Va. The accident severely injured his spine and left him paralyzed from the chest down.
The happy recollections are among many good times the close-knit cousins have had — and continue to enjoy — with each other, so perhaps Schmidt was the logical person to spearhead Sunday’s first Motor on for RJM Benefit Dinner at the St. Charles Borromeo Catholic Church Hall, 7345 Westview Drive.
A main goal of the four-hour gathering was to raise $45,000 to buy a converted, wheelchair-accessible van for Melone to help him be as independent as possible and make it easier for him to see his Cleveland-based doctors, who offer health and survival-training programs, Schmidt noted.
Sponsoring the fundraiser were Scarsella’s Restaurant, Premium Pediatrics Inc. of Niles, Valley Acoustics Inc. and Anthony Hayek, a local architect who donated to the effort.
Before his accident Sept. 11, 2012, Melone, a 1991 Poland Seminary High School graduate, had earned his degree from the Pennsylvania Institute of Culinary Arts in Pittsburgh and had been a professional chef for 17 years. He worked for numerous area eateries, including the former Youngstown Country Club. Melone also served as executive chef for the Hilton Hotel in McLean and a restaurant at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.
Other major short- and long-term goals for the Poland man are increased independence and to return to work, whether as a chef, in the computer field or elsewhere, he explained.
“I want to do something where my experience would be of use. Believe me, I want to go to work right now,” said Melone, who’s receiving physical and sports therapy three times each week in Warren.
He was bedridden for about three months after the accident. Now, he has a nurse who lives and works with him 12 hours daily, and he occasionally gets out to go shopping or to see a movie.
“Every day I’m learning to do something new,” said Melone, adding that his muscle tone has improved during the past year.
Melone expressed gratitude toward those who attended Sunday’s dinner on his behalf, many of whom he didn’t know or hadn’t seen in years. The occasion gave him an opportunity to reunite with Jodie Pezzone Amey of Canfield, a fellow 1991 Poland Seminary High grad whom he saw for the first time in 24 years.
Also happy with Melone’s progress is his cousin, Sean Kushma, a chef at Scarsella’s and a culinary instructor for the Mahoning County Career & Technical Center in Canfield.
Kushma recalled having lived with Melone while they attended culinary school. After the accident, he spent 15-consecutive days at Melone’s bedside, Kushma continued, adding that he wished to thank 21 WFMJ-TV for promoting Sunday’s event.
Despite his struggles, Melone maintains a sense of humor mixed with a little sarcasm. In addition, his good days outnumber the difficult ones, Schmidt said.
“He’s very intelligent and an expert chef who took his work very seriously. I’ve devoted my life to Robert, and I’ll do whatever he needs until the day I die,” she added, fighting back tears.